Testing Fate
by Ceteris
Summary: Twenty year old John finds himself in the world of FF VII and ends up joining Avalanche. Knowing of the painful future which he keeps secret, John considers trying to alter it. However, why should his intentions be considered pure? What happens when his actions cast doubt? Stakes run high, emotions run higher, and the one fated to die watches her foundations shatter around her.
1. Chapter I

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

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Testing Fate**

Chapter I

Exhausted and soaked, John ran into his dorm room and closed the door behind him, locking it. He had decided to go for a walk a while earlier and it had begun to rain while he was outside. He walked over to his window and looked outside at the storm. The rain was violently pouring and the sky was booming with thunder and he could see lighting bolts in the distance.

_I really should check the forecast more often, _thought John as he shut the blinds and decided to take a shower.

_It'll be a few hours till the others come back from the city, guess I got some time to kill. Maybe I should have gone with them instead of staying._

_Then again…_John chuckled to himself as he remembered the others hadn't taken umbrellas or raincoats with them and had gone in a convertible, so they'd come back worse than him.

_I'll never hear the end about the car getting flooded on the way back._

John got out of the shower, dried himself off, put on a red T-shirt, a pair of black jeans with a belt, black socks and shoes (not the fancy dress shoes, but not sneakers either, if you know what I mean) and lied down on his bed which was in the corner of the room by the window. He took out his hair dryer and dried his auburn hair, looking around the room to find something to do. Finally, he looked at the top of the closet on the other side of the room and got an idea.

_The PS2!_

He and his roommates had decided to put their game consoles away until the Summer and concentrate on their studies a couple of months back, but if any of them were here alone while it was pouring outside, John was sure they'd to the same thing. He got the console out of the closet and hooked it up to the TV.

_Now then, what game should I play? Maybe I'll go old-school today._

John had never thrown away any of his old PSX games and had brought them all here should a day like today arrive. He looked through them until his eyes came upon his old copy of Final Fantasy VII.

_Heh, I remember this, still one of the best X-mas gifts I've ever gotten, even if it was 2 weeks before the day._

John blew the dust off the case (it was THAT old) and opened it. The discs had some scratches on them, but they still looked pretty playable. He got out the first disc and put it in the PS2. He watched as the familiar screen he'd seen so many times with the Buster Sword come up. The memory card was pretty new and he hadn't played FFVII in ages, so he chose to begin a new game but then something unexpected happened. Instead of going to the opening cinema with the Lifestream and Aeris, the screen faded to white.

_What the hell? I don't remember this being part of the game._

John put down his controller, got up and walked over to the TV, looking at the screen. He decided to take his hand and tap the screen, hoping something that would somehow get the game going. Instead, the screen started to glow and the rest of the room faded out of sight along with the TV until John only saw white until everything suddenly went black.

* * *

_What happened? Where am I?_

John opened his hazel eyes and looked around. He was lying on a hard floor and seemed to be outside somewhere, but above him he saw black. He cautiously got up and checked his surroundings. To his left and in front of him he saw piles of old trains, most not functioning, but a few had some lights in them. To his right he saw a clearer path and small steps leading to a platform on the side. The right side looked obviously safer, so he took that route.

_This place looks familiar, have I been here before or something?_

He arrived at the steps looked at the sight ahead of him, which was a train with a guard in a red uniform in front of it. This would not have been an unusual sight for most people, but it nearly made John's jaw drop.

_This is impossible; I'm probably dreaming or something._

"E-excuse me, sir?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me where I am?"

"This is the train station at the Sector Seven Slums"

"O-okay, th-thanks," said John as he nervously walked back down the stairs."

_No way, no way._

John walked to his right and came out to a more open area. He looked right to see what was there, although he already knew. There, behind a fence, was a massive pillar connected to the plate which was above the slums.

_This can't be real, but still…_

He noticed something on the ground and knelt down to pick it up. It was a wallet which held some bills and coins inside. He took out one of the purple bills which said 1000 gil, staring at it in disbelief. He then put it back in the wallet and took out one of the green bills which said 500 gil. Afterwards came a blue bill which said 5000 gil and there were coins which read 1, 5, 10, 20 , 50, 100 and 200 gil and their size increased respectively to their value. Counting them up, John saw that he had one blue bill, two purple bills, three green bills, three 200 gil coins, three 100 gil coins, and four of each of the others, which came to a total of 9744 gil.

_Well, at least I don't have to worry about cash for now I guess._

John took out his own wallet and transferred the money, dropping the old wallet back to the ground afterwards. John's wallet didn't have any documents or dollars in it as he had bought it only two days ago. Afterwards, he sighed and slowly headed in the direction of the slums.

_Wow, it all looks so much better when you're actually here._

He walked forward until he came in front of a building which read "Seventh Heaven," staring at it for a good two or three minutes trying to understand that it was real.

_Well, I guess that I should go inside, maybe AVALANCHE is in there._

John walked up the stairs and into the bar, seeing that it was full of people and none of the members of AVALANCHE were visible. With nothing else to do, he say an empty seat at the bar and sat down, closing his eyes trying to focus his thoughts.

_Okay John, calm down. So you're somehow in a game, a game. Things could be worse right? At least you got money, so you don't have to worry about starving for now, if you can find food. Oh geez, whet am I gonna do?_

A woman's voice broke his train of thought.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Hmm?"

John looked up and saw a busty woman with long chocolate colored hair and brown eyes looking at him.

_Wow, it's Tifa, and she looks pretty real to me._

"Oh, umm I guess I'm okay," explained John.

_If you could call it that._

"You look worried," said Tifa, "come on, tell me, maybe I can help."

"Well, I sorta don't know where to go or what to do, that's my problem I guess."

"Where are you staying?"

"I dunno, probably the inn."

_That is until my money runs out_

_Wow, I wish I could help the guy; he seems pretty nice, _thought Tifa, _but what can I do? Unless…Hmm, Barret might get mad, but…_

"Listen, are you sure you don't have anywhere to go?"

"Sure as sure can be, I think"

"Um, can you use a weapon?"

"Umm, I don't know," explained John embarrassingly before quickly adding, "but I can learn, I swear!"

"Hmm, I think I can get you a job. Listen, oh um what's your name? I forgot to ask."

"It's John"

"Well John, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Tifa," she said with a smile, "Now then, there's a Weapon Shop close to here. Why don't you go there and buy a weapon for yourself and maybe a bangle and possibly some materia at the nearby Item Shop if you can, but don't go overboard. I'll try to work something out in the meantime, how about that?"

"Wow, y-you mean it Tifa?" John asked with an excited yet nervous smile.

"Yeah," she replied reassuringly, "now hurry up."

"O-okay," said John, getting up and walking towards the exit, "Oh, Tifa?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks!" said John before walking out of the bar.

Tifa smiled before sighing to herself.

_Now to find Barret and explain why I recruited that guy, hopefully he's in a good mood…_

* * *

John walked into the weapon shop and walked up to the counter, eyeing the different weapons. 

_Wow, what can I use? A machine gun? Yeah right, I'd probably shoot myself before my opponent._

"Um, sir?" asked John to the salesman who smiled in return.

"Ah, let me guess this is your first weapon which you're buying?"

"How did you know?"

"I saw it in your eyes; you don't know which one to pick yet"

"Yeah, can you suggest something?"

"Well, we're out of swords right now, so the only basic type of weapon we have is a staff, how 'bout that?" asked the salesman, holding up a simple guard staff.

"Um, okay, I guess that would be a good start, how much?"

"190 gil"

"Okay, I'll take that and can I have one of those Iron Bangle's as well?"

"Sure, that comes out to 340 gil."

"Okay, here you go." Said John, handing over the smallest coins in his wallet besides the 1 gil coins, lightening his load, "thank you."

"You take care now" said the salesman as John walked out.

After John was back outside, he put on the Iron Bangle and looked around until he saw the Item Shop nearby.

_There's the Item shop, let's get some mateira_

Once inside, John looked at the material and items before making his choice.

"Can I have one "Restore" materia, one "Fire" materia, three potions and a phoenix down, please?"

"Sure, that'll be 1800 gil"

_Wow, that was quite a lot, _thought John as he took out one of the purple bills, a green bill a 200 gil coin and a 100 gil coin.

"Here you go"

"Here are your materia and items sir, have a nice day."

"Yeah, you too," said John as he picked up the materias, examining them up close. The Fire materia had a flame image in it as he looked close and the Restore materia had a tiny blue-ish ball in it.

_Ah, so this is how they told them apart. Pretty clever._

John picked up the three green vials of potions and the orange vial with the phoenix down in it and put them in his pockets, the glass was pretty thick, so they wouldn't break that easily. He then put the Restore materia in his Guard Staff and the Fire materia in his Iron Bangle.

_There, that takes care of that. I guess I should go back to Seventh Heaven now; hopefully Tifa's done what she wanted to do._

* * *

When John walked back into the bar he saw that there was nobody there except Tifa, a little girl and a tall man with a gun for a right arm: Barret. 

"Here he is. Did you get a weapon and materia John?" asked Tifa.

"Yeah, I did."

"See Barret? He can help us, besides, we need new people."

"Ugh, dammit Tifa, I know that, but still…" began Barret before walking up to John, "okay then I'm going to ask you a question and you BETTER give a good answer if you want to join us."

"O-okay"

"What do you think of Shinra?" asked Barret, gritting his teeth as he said the name.

John knew what Barret wanted to hear and replied, "What do I think? I think they're monsters. They're destroying this planet from the inside out and won't stop until they wreck everything to satisfy their greed."

Barret smiled and looked at John for a minute before asking another question, "How old are ya anyway?"

"I'm twenty"

"Heh, same age as Tifa here," said Barret before extending his good hand, "Well then, welcome to AVALANCHE John."

John took Barret's hand and shook it, smiling "Thank you for taking me on board."

Just then three people rushed in, they were two men, one tall and one short and chubby and a girl.

"Ah, Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, we've got a new guy with us. Say hello to John."

"Hi," the three pretty much said in unison.

"It's very nice meeting all of you," said John, smiling and shaking each one's hands.

_Wow, I'm in AVALANCHE, but where's Cloud? Isn't he supposed to be here?_

Barret got on the elevator with Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. As they went down, John could hear Barret shout out, "Everyone get some rest tonight, we have to prepare for the reactor attack tomorrow."

"Reactor attack?" John asked, trying to play along like they expected him to.

"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you about that" said Tifa, blushing a bit "In three days, we're going to destroy the Sector One reactor, but you don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm sure Barret won't mind."

"No no, it's okay Tifa. I want to go!"

"Well then that settles it then," said Tifa smiling, "Oh, there's someone I want to introduce you to. Come here Marlene."

The little girl quietly walked over and stood by Tifa.

"Marlene, this is John, he's a new friend, you'll get along won't you?"

The girl looked at John and shyly nodded.

John stuck out his hand and smiled, "Hi there Marlene"

The little girl quickly shook his hand and went behind Tifa, who laughed, "Well then, I guess we should get down to the others. Let's go John."

John, Tifa and Marlene got on the elevator which had come back up and went down to the lower floor to join the others.

Once they got down, Marlene jumped into Barret's arms and he started to spin her around while she laughed while the others chatted away.

"I'm gonna go to sleep, is that okay Tifa?"

"Oh sure, I guess you're tired John, should I tell them to quiet down?"

"No, it's okay, I'm not bothered. Thanks again by the way for what you did, you really helped me out."

"Don't mention it, it's great having you with us," smiled Tifa.

John smiled back and said, "Well, good night," as he walked over to the corner and sat down.

"'Night John," said Tifa before walking over to Jessie to talk with her.

John closed his eyes and felt himself slowly starting to drift to sleep.

_Maybe this won't be so bad after all, Tifa's really nice to me and Barret isn't exploding at me which must be good. I guess Cloud will be making his entrance soon as well…_


	2. Chapter II

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter and a special thanks to DragonessWarrior for reviewing, I hope you enjoy the second chapter

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Testing Fate**

Chapter II

When John awoke, he looked around and saw that there was no one else in the room besides him.

_Did I oversleep? I better get upstairs._

John got on the elevator and pressed the button to go upstairs. When he got there, he saw that the other members of Avalanche were already eating breakfast (or in Barret's case, already finishing it and asking for seconds.) Everyone looked at him and gave some sort of greeting involving waves and some trying to speak with their mouths full and nearly choking.

"Hi everyone," John greeted back, "Did I oversleep or something?"

"Oh it's okay, don't worry about it," said Tifa, "Come over here to the bar, I made a special welcoming breakfast if you can call it that."

John took his seat in front of Tifa and she put down a plate with a large steak with some mashed potatoes and peas. John looked at the plate and then at everyone else who were looking at the plate with lustful gazes.

"Hey Tifa, how come the new guy gets so much?" asked Biggs with a slight whine.

"I told you, it's a welcoming gift."

"Yeah well, I don't remember getting a gift like that," muttered Wedge before Jessie started laughing.

"Aww, I think someone's jealous of John."

John laughed for a bit with Jessie before diving into his plate, quickly clearing it as he had not had lunch or dinner the previous night.

"Wow, I've never seen anyone enjoy Tifa's cooking like that before, are you okay John? Any ulcers already?" asked Wedge, getting a slightly irritated look from Tifa.

"Nope, it was great Tifa, thank you very much."

"Oh thanks John, I'm glad you enjoyed it," said Tifa as she collected the plates and gave Wedge a look that basically said, 'See?'

After Tifa walked back into the kitchen to wash the plates with Marlene, Jessie walked up to John with a nervous look.

_I know I shouldn't ask him for this. I was supposed to do it myself yesterday, but…_

"John, have Tifa or Barret told you to do something yet?" she asked kindly.

"Uh no, not yet."

"Oh that's great, then can you do a favor for me?"

"Okay, what is it?"

"Umm well you see, yesterday I was supposed to go to the weapon shop down in Sector Five to get some wires that I ordered which I need to finish making the explosives to destroy the reactor in two days, but I kinda dozed off and by the time I woke up it was too late and today I have to look at the layout of the reactor to plan how we're going to carry out a plan. So umm, can you please go to Sector Five for me?"

"Uh sure, I guess."

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much! Do you how to get to Sector Five?"

"N-no, not quite," John said a bit emberassed.

_Well, actually I do know in a way, but I never had to take the trip like THIS before._

"Well, you go out of the slums and through the gate to Sector Six, the guards will let you through if you tell them that you're doing an errand for me. Then you go through the playground and keep going ahead 'till you reach the Sector Five Slums. The weapon shop is to your left afterwards."

"Okay, I'll go get the wires."

"Thanks again, wait here, take this," Jessie said giving him a piece of paper, "you have to give this to the guy at the weapon shop to get the wires. Oh, and can you please not tell Tifa or Barret? They'll give me hell if they found out that I sent you instead of going myself."

"Don't worry about it Jessie, "John said as he headed for the door with his staff.

Jessie gave him a smile and a thumbs up as he headed out.

_Whew, I hope he'll be okay. I better get to work and try to avoid Tifa._

John walked out of the Sector Seven Slums and approached the guards.

_Maybe I should have asked Tifa to come with me, there might be monsters in Sector Six._

"Jessie asked me to run an errand for her, can I pass?" John asked the guards.

"Ugh, I knew she'd do this, she's so lazy," one guard said.

"Go ahead, but be careful, the monsters are pretty tough," added the other as he pressed a button on the wall to open the gate.

John nodded and passed through to Sector Six. After the gate closed behind him he looked at the playground in front of him.

_This is pretty nice, I can see why Aeris would like it. Hey wait, Aeris lives in the Sector Five Slums, maybe I can stop by her church and see if she's there. I'm sure she won't be suspicious if I don't say too much._

John smiled to himself and rushed through the playground to get to Sector Five quicker. He went down the beams as needed and looked around.

_No monsters yet_

However as he reached the middle of the path to Sector Five, he saw to Whole Eaters emerge and stand in his path, their teeth bared.

_Uh-oh, here goes nothing I guess,_ John thought as he clutched his staff.

One of them lunged at him, but thankfully John managed to get out of the way rather clumsily in time, quickly taking his staff and hitting it as its back was exposed. But then the other one jumped onto John's back and he felt the teeth touch his face. Frantically, he swung the staff upwards and managed to get it off him before it managed to sink it's teeth into him. He then started to push down on the creature with his staff, hearing its bones crack as it died.

_Whew, wow I actually killed it. Now, what about-_

John didn't have time to complete his thought as the other one got revenge on him by slamming into his back, which John had foolishly left unguarded and as a result he fell down face first into the ground, dropping his staff in the process.

_Ugh damn!_

As John turned over, the Whole Eater jumped on him and tried to attack his face, but John quickly grabbed by his sides as her belt the putrid breath and razor-sharp teeth in fron of his face. John then brought his knee up to kick the Whole Eater in its stomach and then quickly threw it to his side as it howled in pain, getting up and quickly grabbing his staff afterwards.

_Okay then, let's hope that this materia thing works._

John tried to concentrate on the fire materia in his iron bangle which started to glow as a result and then a fireball appeared in his hand, it felt hot, but not unbearably hot. John pointed his hand at the Whole Eater which was regaining its footing and starting to head for John again and launched the fireball, which made a direct impact as the Whole Eater swallowed it. Immediately, he started screeching as he was burned from the inside out, his organs disintegrating and the shell soon dropping dead on the ground, the smoke rising from its mouth.

_Whew that was close, I better be more careful from now on._

John quickly ran to the exit and entered the Sector Five Slums. As he looked around he saw bums and thieves around him, all wanting some money apperantly.

_I better keep my distance from these guys. Where should I go now? The weapon shop is to the left, but…_

John decided to go forwards instead, avoiding all the people until he saw a building which he instantly recognized.

_This must be Aeris's church, I wonder if she's inside. Well, only one way to find out for sure._

John knocked on the door and went inside.

"Jessie, where are you?" called Tifa as she walked around the AVALANCHE hideout. She had asked Biggs, Wedge and Barret if they'd seen John who'd been missing for over an hour, but none of them had, although Biggs had said that he saw John talking to Jessie after breakfast and Tifa was sure that Jessie was somehow linked to his disappearance.

"Ah! There you are," said Tifa as she saw Jessie looking over the map of the Sector One reactor.

"Hmm? What is it Tifa? Is something wrong?" asked Jessie, almost innocently avoiding eye contact.

"I'm looking for John, he's been missing for around an hour and a half. Biggs said that you were talking to him, did you ask him to do something?"

Jessie looked at the ground in guilt and replied, "Actually, I kinda did…"

_I knew it!, _thought Tifa.

"What did you ask him to do Jessie?"

"Well, remember how I was supposed to get wires for the explosives from Sector Five yesterday, umm I kinda fell asleep and forgot, so…"

"Oh Jessie, you didn't"

"He said that he'd do it, I only asked!"

"There are monsters on the way Jessie!"

"Don't worry about him, he's a big guy and he took his staff and materia with him, he can take care of himself."

"I hope you're right, Jessie. But if he's not back soon, I'm gonna look for him."

"Trust me Tifa, he's fine."

_Or at least I hope so, _thought Jessie to herself.

John quietly entered the church and closed the door behind him. There was nobody here, but he noticed the flowers in the middle. He slowly approached them, put his staff on the ground and knelt down, careful not to crush them.

_This place…seems so peaceful; it's hard to believe it's in the middle of the slums._

John used his momentary state of bliss to think about the near future.

_Tifa should find Cloud pretty soon. I thought that he would have been with them for a few days by now, but I guess I was wrong. I guess that he's still getting to the Sector Seven train station after surviving the attack. I wish I knew how long it took Cloud to end up at the station after Zack was killed, he was pretty out of it from what I remember so it might have taken a few days. If I'd arrived a few days earlier, I might have been able to meet up with them and warn them beforehand…_

John was so deep in his thoughts that he failed to notice the door open and close as another person entered the church and silently approached him, standing above him for a moment before deciding that it was safe to put down their staff and kneel beside him.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" a woman's voice asked softly, quickly bringing John back to the present.

"Huh?" John quickly asked as he looked sideways to meet a pair of emerald eyes.

_It's her!_

"Y-yeah they are. Are they yours?"

Aeris smiled proudly and replied, "Yes, for some reason they have no problem growing here, although it's impossible anywhere else in Midgar as far as I know."

"Well you've done a great job, they're uh- really pretty."

Aeris smiled and got up, as did John.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"It's John."

"I'm Aeris. It's a pleasure to meet you and thanks for complementing my flowers," she added with a smile which made John blush a bit.

"You're welcome Aeris, you do deserve it, they're really beautiful like you said!"

Aeris looked at the ground with embarrassment for a second before changing the subject so that she wouldn't go completely red.

"Thanks again. So what brings you to my church John?"

"Um, I had to go to the weapon shop here to run an errand for someone, but I kinda lost my way I think."

"Oh, the weapon shop? I can show you there," Aeris said as she picked up her staff started walking towards the exit. Once she reached the door, Aeris turned back and gave a beautiful smile again, "Come on, let's go John" and then she walked out.

John quickly grabbed his staff and ran towards the door, but suddenly a sound stopped him just as he was to step outside. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. It was nearly silent, but it sounded like someone whispering, but he couldn't understand anything. It all sounded jumbled and incomprehensible.

"John, are you coming?"

"Y-yeah, I'm coming Aeris," replied John as the whispering stopped and he exited the church.

_What the hell was THAT?! Could it have been- no it couldn't have been Sephiroth or Jenova could it? I don't have Jenova cells in me, so how could I have heard them? But then, who or what was it?_

"You okay John?" asked Aeris.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking."

They started walking to the weapon shop and Aeris started to laugh along the way.

"Hm? What's so funny?"

"You seem to go into your own world of thought here and there. Got a lot to think about then?"

"Well, you could say that I guess."

_I guess I do have a lot to think about, like escaping a reactor about to blow up, a journey across the world to stop a madman while actually helping him and _– the next thought seemed to suddenly hit John like a ton of bricks – _Aeris's death!_

John suddenly realized that Aeris had run ahead of him and was standing in front of a building.

"Here's the weapon shop John. Let's go inside, stop being such a slowpoke," she said before disappearing inside.

John silently followed her indoors.

_Aeris…_

"Here you go, these are the wires which your friend ordered," said the salesman in the weapon shop handing John a box of wires after taking the paper from him while Aeris stood silent, wondering what the wires are for.

Once they got outside she decided to try to find out.

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you need those wires for?"

"Umm, I can't really tell you, sorry…"

"Ah, I see. Classified information," Aeris lightly laughed, "Don't worry about it. What are you going to do now by the way?"

"I have to get back to Sector Seven to give these wires to my friend."

"Sector Seven? That's pretty far. You sure you don't want to rest at my house first?"

"Yeah I'm sure, sorry, thanks for asking though. I really have to head back."

"Hmm, I know. I'll walk you there."

"What? All the way to Sector Seven Aeris?"

"Well, no, not that far I guess. But I'll take you up to the playground by the gate, until you get into Sector Seven."

"But won't you have to come back here all alone then? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Oh don't worry about me. I grew up here, I know how to take care of myself."

John looked at her and finally replied after hesitating, "Okay, you win, you can take me up to the playground."

"Yes! Come on, we should hurry if you have to get those wires back quickly!" exclaimed Aeris as she ran to the entrance to Sector Six.

John stayed silent for a few seconds as he watched her run away.

_One day, she's going to run away like that again and never return. If only…_

John held his head down for a while before running to catch up to her.

John and Aeris entered Sector Six and started to run up the wreckage to get to the playground when just as they were about to reach their destination, a Hell House seemed to drop in out of nowhere.

"Looks like we have to take care of this first Aeris," said John as they both got their staffs ready.

The Hell House launched a missile at Aeirs, which she managed to dodge before getting close and scoring a hit in before she was joined by John. This went on for about ten minutes before they realized that the Hell House's shell was too powerful for their Guard Staffs to destroy.

"What do we do now John?"

"Hmm, stand back Aeris, I'll try to use materia."

Aeris got behind John as he started to use his Fire materia to summon up a fireball which he threw at the Hell House. It seemed to make a hit, but didn't do much damage.

"Aeris listen; try to get it to fire a missile at you again."

"What!? Are you crazy?"

"Trust me I have a plan."

"O-okay, I hope you know what you're doing."

Aeris ran in front of John and started to run around trying to get the Hell House's attention.

"I'm here! Come on, try to shoot me"

The Hell House seemed to get the plan and released another missile, but before it even left him, it was hit by another fireball from John's materia, Resulting in it exploding in front of the Hell House and causing serious damage.

"Yes, you did it John!" Aeris shouted.

_Not quite Aeris, not quite._

Just then, parts of the Hell House flew off and hit both Aeris and John, sending them both flying back. When they got up, the Hell House had sprouted arms, legs and a head from the holes. It then suddenly jumped in front of John and grabbed him before throwing him at Aeris, sending both of them flying yet again. When John got up, he was covered with cuts, as was Aeris.

"Damn, now what Aeris?"

"It's okay; I can take care of the cuts." Aeris said as she clasped her hands together and a blue sphere appeared around them.

_This must be her limit break, Healing Wind, _John thought as a blue-white breeze appeared around them, healing their cuts until they were non existent and both of them were re-energized.

"Thanks Aeris, now let's finish this," said John as he fired yet another fireball at the Hell House's head, which momentarily blinded him. This gave Aeris the opportunity to run in front of the Hell House and jam her staff where its eyes were supposed to be. As it howled in pain, Aeris hung onto the staff with all her weight until it came out of the Hell House's skull, covered in a brain-like substance. The Hell House ran around screaming for a few seconds before it collapsed dead onto the ground.

Aeris stared at her staff in disgust as she hit it against the ground to make the disgusting substance fall off.

"Wow, that was great Aeris!" exclaimed John as he smiled.

Aeris smiled back and said, "See? I told you can handle myself!"

"Okay, okay, you proved your point."

The two of them laughed as they entered the playground. Before they approached the gate, Aeris spoke.

"Wait John, before you go, I want to show you something."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Well, since you use Materia, I thought I could show you this," Aeris said as she reached into her ribbon.

_Oh, this_, thought John.

Aeris took out a small white sphere and showed it to John.

"This is a materia that I've had for a really long time, but it doesn't do anything as far as I know. Do you know what it's for?" she asked as she handed it to John.

John took the White Materia in is hand and looked at it.

_Wow, I can't believe that such a small thing is supposed to save the planet. It really doesn't look like it can do much, but this is the key to Holy._

"I have no idea what it's supposed to do Aeris. I've never seen it before," John lied as he tried to keep Aeris's death from playing in his mind and handed the materia back to Aeris, who but it back into its place in her ribbon.

"It's ok, thanks for trying John," said Aeris smiling, "Let's go, the gate's just over there."

"Aeris?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for today, I had a nice time."

"Oh you're welcome John, I had a great time too," replied Aeris as they walked up to the front of the gate.

John knocked on it and shouted, "Hey, it's me! I'm back, open the gate!"

The guards on the other side heard this and opened up the gate, revealing a rather worried Tifa on the other side.

"John!" exclaimed Tifa, "Are you okay? Jessie really shouldn't have asked you to make up for her lazyness"

"It's ok Tifa. I got the wires and Aeris here helped me get back."

Tifa walked up to Aeris and smiled, "Hi there, I'm Tifa. Thanks a lot for bringing John back."

Aeris smiled back and replied "Oh, you're welcome Tifa."

"Bringing?" John asked as he walked over to Tifa, "I could have come back by myself, she asked to come along."

"Uh-huh, of course you could," Aeris said in a sarcastic manner before mouthing a 'no way' to Tifa who gave a light chuckle in response.

"Anyway," Aeris said, "You two should be going since those wires were apparently so important."

"Oh okay," said Tifa, "See you around then Aeris"

"Bye Aeris, thanks for everything." Said John as the gate started to close.

"Bye Tifa, Bye John, it was great meeting you," said Aeris as the gate shut in front of her.

Aeris stood silent for about a minute before she started to head back home, smiling to herself.

_This was a really nice day, I hope I see him again._

When John and Tifa got back to Seventh Heaven, Jessie gave a big sigh as John handed her the wires.

"Thank you so much John, and uh I'm sorry that I made you go."

"Don't mention it Jessie," John said with a smile, "it wasn't so bad."

Jessie smiled back before heading off to do work on the explosives.

"What should I do now Tifa?" asked John.

"You should rest, you've had quite a day, I'll call you when dinner's ready."

"Okay."

John spent the rest of the day around the AVALANCHE hideout watching what the others were doing and playing with Marlene, who didn't seem so shy anymore. That night after dinner, Tifa came up to him.

"John, you wanna go for a walk? I want to tell you something."

"Sure Tifa," replied John.

They both stepped outside and started walking in the direction of the train station.

"What did you want to tell me Tifa?"

"Oh nothing much, I wanted to thank you again for what you did. You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I guess I feel that I should pull my own weight around here, plus I got some fighting experience."

"Do you plan on staying with us for long?"

"Why? Should I leave?"

"No no, I was just curious," Tifa quickly replied.

"I guess for a while until I figure out what else I can do. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay, you can stay as long as you want."

"Thanks."

As they walked into the train station, Tifa suddenly stopped, her eyes widening with shock as she whispered the single word that John had been waiting to hear.

"Cloud!"


	3. Chapter III

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Once again, thanks to all who read the story so far and a special thanks once more to DragonessWarrior and now to Malefactior for taking the time to review.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter III

John and Tifa approached the spiky-haired man in the SOLDIER uniform who was lying on the ground as a guard looked over him, wondering if he was ok. Tifa wanted to be sure that it was really her childhood friend that she hadn't seen for seven years. Tifa went ahead of John and knelt down in front of the blond man and found her voice to speak,

"A-are you all right?"

John watched as the man opened his bizarre bloodshot mako blue eyes to look at Tifa.

"Tifa?"

"Cloud? Oh Cloud, it is you!" cried Tifa in happiness.

"Yeah…" Cloud replied rather uneasily and getting up, "I'm Cloud."

Tifa was surprised by his strange words as was John, despite knowing that he would say that. Tifa chose to ignore it and rose as well, continuing to talk to Cloud.

"You don't look that well Cloud."

"It's okay Tifa, don't worry about it. It's nothing…"

"I can't believe it's really you! How long has it been?"

John watched as Cloud suddenly started to shake his head rather violently for about a single second before finally saying the false truth,

"Five years"

Tifa's eyes slightly widened before she regained her composure.

"R-really?"

"I know, I can't believe it's been that long."

"Cloud... What have you been up to all these years? What happened after you left Nibelheim?"

"I'll tell you Tifa, but do you have a place where I can stay for the night? I'm really sorry for asking this so suddenly."

"Hm? Oh don't worry Cloud; I know where you can stay. It's not far away from here."

Cloud smiled and Tifa and said "Thanks," before noticing John for the first time.

"Who's this Tifa?" he asked his childhood friend who seemed to have gone into a trance as she stared at the spot where Cloud had been laying a short while ago.

"What? Oh, I'm really sorry for not introducing you. Cloud, this is John. John, this is Cloud, we grew up in the same town."

"It's nice to meet you," said John trying to hide his worry as he shook Cloud's hand.

"Likewise I'm sure. How long have you known Tifa?"

"Only for a day to tell you the truth. I happened to walk into her bar yesterday."

"A bar?" Cloud asked, chuckling while slightly annoying Tifa, "Tifa owns a bar here?"

"And just what is so unbelievable about that Cloud?"

"Well it's nothing, but I just um… never saw you as a future bar hostess whenever I saw you as a kid."

"Well, you weren't the only one that changed since you left…" Tifa said looking down at her feet.

"Yeah, I know Tifa," said Cloud, his voice taking on a sadder tone, "I'll never forgive Sephiroth for what he did to you in that reactor."

At that moment Tifa's head shot up and locked eyes with Cloud.

_W-what? How does he know that? He wasn't even there. You weren't there Cloud, I waited for you to save me, but…_

Tifa lightly shook her head and decided to play along for now, her gaze relaxing and leaving Cloud.

"…Thanks Cloud."

John decided that this was a good moment for him to turn on his fake innocence of the subject matter, so he summoned up his best surprised tone,

"What did you say? Sephiroth? Y-you two knew Sephiroth? The Great General Sephiroth?"

Tifa and Cloud both looked down again and tried to keep their minds from reliving that horrible memory.

_Great? Yeah, you could say he was great. A great murderer! But I shouldn't be angry at John, hell, I idolized Sephiroth as a kid, and look where it got me…_thought Cloud.

"Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have asked" said John.

"No, don't worry about it," said Cloud, "It wasn't your fault. Isn't that right Tifa?"

She looked John and nodded, giving a reassuring smile.

"Cloud's right, you don't know what happened. I don't know if you can say that I knew Sephiroth, but I did... encounter him if you could say that"

John nodded and tried to change the subject.

"So should be head back to the others now?"

"I guess we should," said Tifa, "Cloud probably needs to rest."

And with that, the three began an uneasy and silent trip back to Seventh Heaven.

* * *

When they arrived, Tifa went into the kitchen to quickly whip something up for Cloud, despite his protests. Cloud was also introduced to the other members of AVALANCHE to whom he gave little more than a wave, which upset Barret to the point that he stormed out. While Tifa was in the kitchen, this left Cloud and John alone in the bar. John wanted to initiate some sort of conversation to get on Cloud's good side, but he didn't know how to. 

_What do I say to a guy like this? No matter what he says, there's a big chance that it's almost all a lie that he's living without his knowledge, but I know what happened and why he's like this. I wish I could make him see the truth right now to make him avoid what he's going to go through, but I can't or else who knows what might happen. Plus I'd never hear the end of it from him and Tifa if they found out that I knew what happened to Nibelheim. Hell, I even know more than they do most likely. I have to keep things going like they're supposed to for the most part, at least until we get out of Midgar and are farther away from Shinra. Thankfully, I have some time until that time comes. Well, here goes nothing._

"Cloud?"

"Hm?"

"Are you in SOLDIER or something?"

"… I used to be in SOLDIER long ago, First Class, I just kept the uniform. I'm a mercenary now."

_That was an example of a lie._

"Oh, ok. Can I ask something else?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Is that how you met…him? Was he your commander or something?"

There was a long silence afterwards before Cloud replied,

"Yes, Sephiroth was my commander while I was in SOLDIER."

John decided not to press the matter any further when Cloud decided that it was his turn to ask a question.

"Where are you from anyway John?"

_Damn, what should I say? I can't exactly tell him the truth now. Quick, think something up._

"Oh you know, here and there."

"Here and there eh?" said Cloud smiling.

"Yup," replied John who was also smiling.

_Well I guess this is some progress, _thought John as Tifa came in with some food similar to what she made John that morning.

"Here you go Cloud, enjoy!"

"Tifa, you really didn't have to."

"I don't mind, now hurry up and eat."

While Cloud was eating, John decided that Tifa would want to ask Cloud some private questions after he was done and decided to bow out.

"Well, I guess you two will want to catch up on old times. See ya tomorrow," said John as he headed towards the elevator.

"Bye John, thanks for what you did for Jessie!"

"Bye"

Once John got to the bottom floor he waved good night to Biggs, Wedge and Jessie (who gave him many thanks for what he did again, along with many apologies) and went over to the corner where he slept the previous night and lied down, slowly drifting off to sleep.

_This was quite a day, Cloud seems to be okay with me being here, I'll try to talk to him again tomorrow. I hope Aeris managed to get home safe…_

* * *

Meanwhile upstairs, Cloud had finished his dinner and Tifa was reluctantly ready to ask him some questions. 

"Cloud, can you please tell me what happened after you left Nibelheim seven years ago?"

"Sure. Basically within the next two years I got into SOLDIER and quickly rose up the ranks. The mission in Nibelheim was my first after becoming First Class. I remember I was so excited about coming back."

_But you didn't come back Cloud, I never saw you! I waited and waited, but…_

Tifa was silent for a few seconds before asking another question.

"Cloud, what do you exactly… remember from the trip to Nibelheim?"

"I remember going to see my mom and going to the reactor, you were our tour guide. The bridge broke and you weren't allowed inside the reactor. I remember afterwards as well when Sephiroth went mental and torched the whole town. I also remember… finding you after he had slashed you."

"…anything else?"

"Actually, no. I don't remember much else, I remember going up to fight him, but I don't know what happened after that, somehow I ended up alive and so did you."

_This isn't making any sense. How can he know what happened in that reactor? I never saw him! And some of the other stuff is making no sense whatsoever, why doesn't he remember what happened after Sephoroth injured me? We never found out what really happened to Sephiroth either, we can't trust what Shinra says._

"How did you end up here in Midgar?"

"…I don't remember exactly."

"What? Cloud, we only found you two hours ago."

"I know, but I'm telling the truth. I don't know why I can't remember, I just know that I don't."

Tifa was silent again after this.

_Cloud…what's wrong with you? What really happened to you during these seven years?_

"… so now what Cloud? What are you going to do now?"

"I'm a mercenary now, so I guess I came here looking for jobs. I don't think I'll be able to find one though, so I'll leave soon."

"Leave?! When?"

"Tomorrow probably"

"But you just arrived Cloud, can't you stay a little while?"

_I can't let him go like this, there's something not right with him. I can't quite put my finger on it, but…_

"Tifa, it's not like I would be able to stay anyway. Barret wouldn't have it and he'd kick me out."

"I can talk to him, he'll listen."

"Thanks for the offer Tifa. It was great seeing you again, but I'll be leaving tomorrow. I gotta find a job don't I?"

Cloud got up and started walking towards the elevator to get some sleep and Tifa started to panic before she hastly came up with an idea.

"We can hire you Cloud."

"Excuse me? Who's we?"

"We as in AVALANCHE, we're a resistance group against Shinra and we'll be attacking the No.1 Mako Reactor here in Midgar the day after tomorrow. We can pay you to help us, I'm sure your fighting skills will be useful."

_Please Cloud, stay! _

"…What about Barret?"

"I'll talk to him. He knows that we could use another fighter and he'll be prepared to pay you."

_Yes, that's it!_

"…"

"…"

"Okay Tifa, you win. If I'm hired, I'll stay until the end of the mission, but I'm gone right after that."

"O-okay…"

"Good night Tifa," said Cloud as he headed to the bottom floor to get some sleep.

"Night…" Tifa said silently.

_I've got to find out what happened to him and why he's like this, even if it means letting him believe what he thinks is true for a while._

* * *

Next morning came sooner than Tifa would have liked and before she knew it, she was standing in front of Barret after breakfast asking him to hire Cloud and trying to get him to keep his voice down, which resulted in failure. 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO PAY HIM?!"

"Barret please, keep it down."

"Grr damn it Tifa. What is it with you lately? First you recruit that John guy without asking me and now you want Cloud as well? When did I stop being the boss of this group?"

"Barret, you know as well as I do that we would benefit from having Cloud with us on the mission and besides, I agreed to stay and look after this place tomorrow, so I can't go."

"An' what about the No. 5 reactor the next day? You wanna have him come along then too? Huh?"

"Barret, let's not jump ahead, we all have to get out of this one alive first and Cloud will help us."

"I understand Tifa but… does it have to be HIM? He has shown no respect around here and expects me to give him &#&+ MONEY for it."

"Barret please, hire him for this job, for me…"

"Ugh, dammit Tifa. Fine, where is he?"

"He's somewhere outside with John from what I remember, John decided that he should leave the bar while I asked you."

"And why would John think that?"

"Because he thought that you would go on and start yelling at him for no apperant reason."

"Mutha&#, I'm gonna go find them."

As Barret went outside shouting profanities, Tifa smiled to herself for her small victory.

_There, this gets me more time, maybe I can get Cloud to stay for the No. 5 Reactor attack as well._

* * *

John had led Cloud to the Beginner's hall and now they were sitting on top of a pile of boxes. 

"How much longer do we have to wait here John?"

"What would you prefer Cloud? Sitting here with me or being back at the bar where Barret would come up to you and start yelling while Tifa was trying to talk to him?"

"…"

"There, I knew I was right. Come on admit it, this was a good idea."

"…yeah I guess you're right. Pretty much anything would have been better than staying there with Barret," Cloud said as he smiled.

"There we go, that's the spirit!"

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you plan on doing after the reactor bombing?"

"Well, Tifa told me that we'd attack the No. 5 Reactor the next day, so I guess I'll stick around for that. What about you?"

"I'll probably leave."

"…Tifa wouldn't like that."

"I guess Tifa will have to deal with it. I know she wants me to stay here, but I can't."

"I'm a mercenary and I would like to take advantage of that and not be held down in one place."

"I guess I see that," said John, "but still, you can stay a little longer can't you? At least for Tifa's sake."

"Tifa's… a big girl now, she doesn't someone to look after her, especially me."

"Are you sure about that Cloud?"

"…Why are you asking me these questions anyway, you've only known her for two days."

"I see things Cloud, things that don't have to be spoken to be understood. She's worried about you, you just turned out from nowhere after so long and now you're about to leave her again, she'll be lonely."

"Then you can do her a favor and look after her John after I leave."

"Geez Cloud, you can at least try to understand her."

"…"

"Hm?"

"…I will miss her," said Cloud before quickly adding, "but that doesn't mean that I'll stay."

John slowly nodded in understanding before asking a question that he already knew the answer to.

"Cloud, where did you come from?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where were you before Midgar?"

"…I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"…no. I know it sounds crazy, but I don't."

_Cloud…_

"Do you know how you might have lost your memory?"

Cloud shook his head with some sadness on his face.

"I see…"

They stayed silent like that for a few minutes until John decided to break the silence.

"Well then, I think Tifa should be done with Barret by now I think, let's go back and hear him yell."

Cloud gave a light chuckle before jumped off the pile and stood besides the door.

"You got it, let's go."

John jumped off too and when he landed he saw two things on the floor. One was a vial with red liquid which must have been an Ether and a blue materia which upon closer inspection showed two spheres connected together.

"This must be an "All" materia," said John, "here catch, Cloud."

John tossed the materia at Cloud who caught it and looked at it,

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"I saw that your sword has linked slots, so you'll be able to use it."

"Oh, thanks," said Cloud.

* * *

After leaving they went into the weapon shop where Cloud bought an iron bangle and then they were heading back to the bar when they saw a very tired looking Barret walk up to them with an annoyed look on his face. 

"THERE YA ARE! Listen up Spike-head, you are so lucky to have Tifa on your side. Thanks to her, you're hired for this mission tomorrow, so you should be thankful."

Cloud gave a nod before asking, "What's my pay then?"

"PAY? THAT'S ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT?! DAMMIT, YOU'RE GETTING PAID WHEN WE RETURN, WHATEVER I GIVE YOU AND NOT A GIL BEFORE THAT!!!"

With that, Barret walked away shouting even more curses than before. A few minutes later, John and Cloud started walking back towards the bar as well.

"You know what?" asked Cloud as they were walking up the steps.

"Hm?"

"I think yelling was an understatement."

When they got into the bar, they were both laughing which made Barret even angrier and shout more random curses and punch the wall and eventually Biggs which made John and Cloud holler even more.

During all this Tifa just sat at the bar and watched her friends.

_At least Cloud is laughing, that's good. I gotta be thankful to John for cheering him up._

They ate a very disorganized dinner that night as Barret kept swearing into his food which resulted into pieces of chicken flying off and hitting everyone in the face, leading to everyone carrying their plates as they walked around the room to eat.

The one who seemed to be enjoying everything the most was John, who eventually broke down in laugher at the whole situation and was soon followed by Tifa and eventually the rest of AVALANCHE, finishing off with Barret himself.

* * *

Around noon the next day, the entire group gathered at the train station. Marlene was hugging Barret good-bye and Tifa was telling everyone to stay alive. 

"John, you watch yourself and you too Cloud. I don't want to hear news of anyone dying."

"We'll be okay Tifa, don't worry," said John who was soon backed up by Cloud with a nod.

Barret then stood in front of the entrance to the train to make a short speech,

"Alright y'all, this is it. We're gonna go and kick some major Shinra ass and come back victorious. Everyone knows what they have to do. Let's move out!"

With that, everyone aside from Tifa and Marlene boarded the train as it departed for the No.1 Reactor. After it left, Tifa and Marlene stood on the platform for a few more minutes before starting to head back to the bar.

_Stay safe Cloud, there's still so much you need to know._


	4. Chapter IV

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Once again, thank you to all who read and special thanks to all who reviewed.

About what malefactior said, I do realize that Cloud seemed quite OOC in the last chapter at the end with John, but a bit of that is explained in this chapter. I still kept him like I thought he would be in the other parts where he talked to Tifa and the same with the other characters he comes across, but John is a bit of an exception which you'll see as the story progresses.

* * *

**  
Testing Fate**

Chapter IV

As the train to the No.1 Reactor speeded towards its destination, the members of AVALANCHE sat silently inside, each deep in thought. John kept thinking about how bizarrely he and Cloud had managed to connect the previous day. He had always pegged Cloud to be someone who was very cold at this stage, so when he was making attempts at conversation, he was always expecting Cloud to tell him to shut up or not to respond at all. But to John's surprise, Cloud did make attempts to talk back to him and had even used humor at the end of the day, something which shocked John on the inside once the laughter had died down. Despite this, John took everything as a plus and was pleased that he had gotten so much out of Cloud. Truth be told, John felt sorry for Cloud knowing his story. He always had dreams as a child and as he was growing up, but he was too insecure and never had the courage to act on his wishes and was now living them out in a lie which he had convinced himself to be the truth.

John wasn't the only one to be surprised by Cloud's behavior the previous day. Cloud himself was thinking about the same thing. He'd found it easy to tell John things despite knowing him for less than a day and Cloud wasn't known to be a social bunny of any kind. He hadn't exactly had friends as a child and in SOLDIER, his officers were all usually much older than him, including Sephiroth. John was possibly the first male around his own age to try to initiate some sort of friendship, which had taken Cloud by surprise as for the majority of his life, the other guys around him had ridiculed him for one thing or another.

Barret in the meantime was still trying not to relive the humiliation that he experienced the previous night, even though he had laughed at himself in the end as well. He had to admit that it was a lot more…livelier since Tifa had brought in the two new guys, but first comes first and they had a mission which they had to complete. He'd wanted to hit Shinra as hard as possible before they could get their guard up after the first blow, so he organized it so that they would bomb the No.5 Reactor the next day, granted that the attack on the No.1 Reactor ended in success. Although he knew that innocent people were bound to get hurt in the explosion, it was for the good of the planet as a whole.

Jessie finished the final inspections on the explosives and walked up to John.

"Here John, you take this."

"Hm? Wait, aren't these the explosives which I had to get the wires for?"

"Yeah, you really helped me out by getting the wires, so you should be the one to do the deed, I'll have to stay above the reactor core to keep watch."

"Um Jessie, are you sure about this? What if I make a mistake and it just blows up while we're in there?"

Jessie gave a giggle and responded, "Oh don't worry, it's very simple. All you have to do is press this button and the timer will start."

Jessie pointed to a big red button in the middle of the circular explosive right below the timer screen, embarrassing John a bit.

"That does look rather simple. All right Jessie, I'll do it, but I hope you're right."

"Oh don't worry about anything, you'll do it just fine, it's just a button after all."

"Can you hold onto it for me until we reach the core though? I wouldn't want to accidentally drop it on the way there."

"Okay, give it to me now. I'll give it to you once we reach the bottom."

Jessie took the explosives back from John, went back to her original post at the end of the car and looked at the time.

"We'll be there in six minutes, everyone get ready."

John thought that this was a pretty good time to try something new, so he switched the materia places in his equipment, putting the Restore materia in the Iron Bangle and the Fire materia in his staff to see the effects.

Cloud adjusted his materia as well, putting the Lighting materia together with the All materia that John had given him in the linked slots on his sword and placing the Ice materia in the Iron Bangle.

Before they knew, the No. 1 Mako Reactor in Midgar was in full view, it was time.

"A'right, it's now or never!" shouted Barret as everyone rushed towards random exits.

* * *

One by one, the first AVALANCHE members jumped out of the car and took care of the guards on the platform, leaving Cloud and John to come out last. Cloud grabbed his Buster Sword and rushed forward while John took a second to check the pockets of the fallen guards, emerging with a potion, an ether and a green 500 gil bill. 

_You gotta plan for the future somehow I guess, I don't think killing monsters will realistically make money appear out of thin air._

Once John got up he saw that two guards had come out of the entrance to the reactor and one of them was heading his way with his baton. The other had headed for Cloud, who had easily blocked his attack and had wounded his opponent with a slash to the arm and a kick to the wall which knocked him unconscious. John noticed that the guard was running at him aimlessly, so he decided to try a blow to the legs. As the guard swung his baton, John ducked and swung his staff at the guard's feet, tripping him. Before the guard was able to get up, John beat him to it and brought his staff down hard to the back of his head, making him lose consciousness.

"Let's go," said John as he managed to find a 200 gil coin in the pocket of the guard he had knocked out.

Cloud merely nodded and the two ran ahead to catch up to the other AVALANCHE members, who were already assembled at the locked door which Jessie was opening.

"Dun be so slow, ya two or you'll get killed," scolded Barret who grit his teeth later on as he realized that he had been ignored. Thankfully by that time, Jessie had managed to open the door so he tired to take whatever from of victory he could by walking in before John and Cloud. He was met by a guard who never had a chance as Barret shot his leg and arm, making the guard drop his machine gun. Barret then went even further and kicked the machine gun away as the guard desperately managed to sneak away into the darkness with his life, dripping blood.

Cloud and John followed behind, but after Barret had run inside, two more guards had assembled to take the place of their failed comrade. John stepped forward and decided to see what the different materia placements would do. He concentrated on his Fire materia, which formed a body of fire at the tip of his staff which he swung at his enemy. One of the guards was hit by the fireball and caught on fire. While he was struggling to get his clothes off to keep his burns minimal, Cloud decided to take advantage of the other one's distraction and used his Ice materaia to launch a block of ice which hit him square in the chest and made him crash into the pipes behind him and lose his weapons. While the two guards struggled to get back up on their feet, John and Cloud quickly slipped inside.

Once on the bridge, they managed to see a glimpse of Barret as he headed inside before they saw a Guard Hound running at them after it had jumped over Wedge from direction of the exit which they were meant to take after they completed the mission. John quickly ran ahead and used his Fire materia again, launching a projectile which made a direct hit on the Guard Hound and made him lightly catch fire. John then brought his staff back to make a blow, but ended up missing, giving the Guard Hound a change to hit his back, which it did with the tentacle on its head, knocking John down. John looked up to see that Guard Hound getting ready to attack using its claws, but before it could do anything Cloud rammed his sword into the creature's neck, instantly killing it as it dropped to the ground.

"Thanks," said John, to which Cloud replied with a brief, "Don't let your guard down."

Afterwards the two quickly ran to the inside of the reactor where the others were waiting as John took a glance over the bridge.

_Damn, we're high up!_

Inside, Barret walked up to them, apparently annoyed.

"Dammit, ya two are taking a long time. You're coming with me now, so get of your high horse Cloud."

Cloud merely shrugged as Biggs managed to open the door and Jessie got to work. In less than a minute she had deciphered the code as well and the door opened, revealing three Super Sweepers on the other side. Cloud got a quick idea in his head as he stepped ahead of the others and concentrated on his Lightning materia. Thanks to the All materia that John had given him, lightning bolts shout outward from where Cloud was standing and hit all three machines, causing them to cease functioning as they merely collapsed. John then took a quick detour to the side room by himself to find a small box with a Phoenix Down inside. As he picked it up, he saw that it was a spherical vial with an orange like liquid inside.

_Strange, I wonder how this is exactly supposed to work if someone got knocked out._

He pocketed the vial and headed back,

"What were ya doin?" asked Barret.

"Nothing much, just searching. Let's go then."

Jessie apparently agreed with John as she cracked the code on the elevator and the doors opened as the four of them while Biggs stayed behind to stand guard.

* * *

After Barret's speech inside the elevator and getting angry at Cloud again who seemingly did not care a single bit about the planet, the elevator stopped and the team got off and started to head down the stairs. Along way, they saw a 1st Ray standing at the turn on the stairs, ready to fire a laser at them. Thankfully, Cloud quickly ran ahead and destroyed it with his sword, clearing the path for the others with Jessie running ahead now into the door at the bottom of the stairs. Once they were all standing on the ledge above the reactor core, Jessie approached John and handed him the explosives. 

"It's up to you now John, you know what to do."

"Right."

_Big red button, big red button. Just press the button and it will all be over._

"Hurry up, we dun got much time," said Barret as he started to climb the ladders leading down, followed by Cloud.

John held the device close to him to keep it from falling and slowly climbed down the stairs to the bottom. Downstairs a group of four MPs stood there guarding the reactor core. John quickly threw a flaming projectile at one of them, making a direct hit and setting him on fire, which caused the others to rush towards the group, one getting his machine gun ready and the others taking out their batons. Barret was quick to act and managed to shoot the holder of the machine gun down before he could fire. Cloud then ran ahead and slashed at one of the guards, giving him a harsh arm wound, leading to him falling back and over the edge of the bridge into the mako below. The remaining guard tried to attack Cloud, but was killed by Barret's bullets before he could make contact.

_Geez, that was close, _thought Cloud, _given his aim, he could have shot me!_

The guard which had been hit by John's magic attack, despite burning by the second, took got his machine gun ready to fire and aimed straight for John, whose eyes widened at the sight. Thankfully, before a shot could be fired Cloud quickly swung at the guard and sliced off the arm with the machine gun before quickly stabbing him in the stomach. After he pulled his sword out, the bringing guard tumbled backwards over the bridge into the mako like his friend before him. Cloud approached the rector core first afterwards, finding a Restore materia on the ground and pocketed it. However, before he could do much else a strange yet familiar voice appeared in his head to warn him. John watched with a bit of pity, knowing what was happening to Cloud.

"Cloud, are you okay?"

Cloud seemed to break out of his trance and gave a rather uncertain nod as he moved to the side. Barret came up to it next and stood beside Cloud as John hesitantly walked up to the center of the core and placed the detonator on it. He was about to press the button when a thought appeared in his head.

_Wait a sec, if I detonate it now, we might not have enough time to defeat the Guard Scorpion, I have to think a way to talk myself out of starting the timer until it arrives…_

Thankfully, John didn't have to think up a ruse as just at that moment, he heard the door on the other side of the bridge open and the sound of something large moving across the bridge as he turned around.

* * *

The Guard Scorpion made its way across the bridge and stood in front of its three opponents, who were trapped on the small end with their weapons drawn and ready. John was expecting it to try to fire on them using its side guns but to his surprise it stepped back a few steps. 

_Hm? What's it doing?_

The Guard Scorpion then took John a surprise as it slowly raised its tail over its head until it was pointed at them and a blue light was emanating from it.

_Oh no, I didn't think it would start off with that!_

"Watch out!" shouted John as the laser fired and just barely missed them as they managed to avoid the blast thanks to John's warning. Cloud then rolled under the Guard Scorpion and managed to get a slash in on its mechanical underbelly as he rolled out on the other side. The Guard Scorpion brought its tail slightly down and began striking down, trying to get a hit in on Cloud who was managing to dodge the so far. Barret decided to help out and started to shoot at the robot, but only a few of the bullets caused any actual damage to it due to its armor. John decided to try a magic attack, so he threw a fireball at its head, which destroyed one of its sensors. The Guard Scorpion apparently did not like this as it suddenly jumped, turning around while in midair. As soon as it touched the Ground, it rushed ahead at Cloud, tackling him and sending him falling backwards on to the ground. Then it got its tail ready again, but instead of bringing it above its head, the tail ended up pointing straight at John.

_Damn, what do I do now?_

As the Guard Scorpion fired, John ducked to avoid the beam, however it ended up hitting the wall behind him and the resulting energy ended up hurling John forward and nearly sent Barret over the edge of the bridge, ceasing his assault of bullets on the mechanical creature. As John brought his head up, he found himself face to face with the Guard Scorpion's tail which was getting ready to strike and make direct impact with John's head. Before it could strike however, Cloud ran towards the mechanical being and unleashed a Braver attack, jumping into the air and bringing his sword down on the robot guard's right side, cutting through the metal and the circuits, sending the Guard Scorpion into a frenzy as it jumped and turned once again, this time swinging its tail as it came down, hitting Cloud on his side as he tried to jump backwards, sending him to hit the railing on the bridge. John still had not gotten up and the Guard Scorpion was now getting ready to fire his guns upon him.

"John, catch!" yelled Cloud as he removed the Lightning materia from his Buster Sword and tossed it over the Guard Scorpion. The materia landed right in front of John and he knew what to do. Quickly removing the Fire materia from his staff and pocketing it, John replaced it with the Lighting materia and began to concentrate on it. Bolts shot out of the Guard Staff and hit one of the Guard Scorpions side guns, eliminating it. John quickly fired a second bolt while the Guard Scorpion was recovering, taking out the second gun as well. With the side weapons now eliminated, John felt tired. Not only physically, but in a mental way as well from casting so much magic since entering the reactor.

_The ether!_

John took out the ether from his pocket which he had taken off the guard at the entrance and drank it down, feeling his mental strength return. He took firm hold of his Guard Staff again and started to launch bolt after bolt, hitting the Guard Scorpions head, blowing it off and its legs which left it immobile. Barret ran behind John and began to fire bullets once again, causing the Guard Scorpion's legs to give out and collapse as the Guard Scorpion fell to the ground. Cloud grabbed his sword and quickly plunged it into the tail, causing it to rapidly move around once Cloud removed it. The tail started to charge in order to fire one final laser bean, but when it came, the tail was pointing at the Guard Scorpion's own body. The resulting beam, gut through whatever was left of the armor which hadn't been destroyed by John's magic attacks or Barret's shots, permanently destroying it. Barret walked up close to the debris and inspected the wreckage, finding one of the side guns which had fallen off. As he looked at it, he saw that it would be compatible with his gun arm, so he removed his plain Gattling Gun and replaced it with the Assault Gun that the Guard Scorpion had dropped.

"'Kay, let's get this over with then."

* * *

John faced the detonator once more, determined to pull everything off correctly. 

_Okay, big red button, here we go!_

John bravely reached out and pressed the button just as Jessie had told him to, but nothing happened.

_What's wrong? Isn't the timer supposed to start, maybe if I press it again…_

So John pushed the button once again, and a few more times after that as well.

_Something's not right with this thing…_

As John began to worry, he saw the timer come on and relaxed.

_Ah, finally, Let's see, according to what I remember, we're supposed to have ten minutes to escape._

John looked close at the timer and yelled at what he saw.

"HOLY $#+, we've got five minutes, RUN!"

John quickly ran back across the bridge towards the stairs and Cloud and Barret wasted no time in following him. At the top of the stairs, John found Jessie with her leg stuck in a gap on the bar she was standing on. He quickly ran over to her and helped her get her leg out.

"Hurry, we don't have much time!"

"What is it, what's wrong John?" asked Jessie as they were running up the stairs with Cloud and Barret tailing behind.

"How long did you set that timer for?"

"I set it for ten minutes, I thought that would be enough for us to get out."

"Well, then either you or I made a mistake somewhere, because it said that we only had five minutes to escape."

"What?! Damn, I'll try to think of why it could have happened once we get back to the hideout."

As they reached the top of the stairs, they found three Guard Hounds waiting for them, read to attack. John quickly launched a Bolt spell at one, hitting it square in the face, burning its eyes. Jessie then jumped over John and dealt a hard kick to the blinded creature's back, breaking it. One of the others lunged at John, but was hit by an Ice spell from Cloud who had just gotten to the top of the stairs with Barret, sending it flying back. Barret decided to put his new Assault Gun to good use and unleashed a hail of bullets on the three creatures, drilling them to death with bullet holes before running to the elevator.

"Dammit, we dun 'got time for this, hurry!"

The others waited no time entering the elevator as Jessie hastily hit the "UP" switch. Once the elevator stopped, Biggs and Jessie wasted no time in opening the doors once again as the team made its was towards the exit. With John in front, the five of them ran out onto the bridge, seeing a guard in front of them with a baton, oblivious to the fact that the reactor was about to blow up.

"Outta my way!" shouted John as he swung his staff at the guard and sending him falling over the edge to the ground below. As they turned to the right to join Wedge and head towards the exit, they felt a massive blast of heat from behind them as they all hit the ground when they reached the structure on the other side of the bridge. AVALANCHE then turned around to see a massive smoke cloud coming from the wreckage of the No.1 Mako Reactor.

_Wow, that's really something, _thought John, _we actually managed to do it._

The members of AVALANCHE silently turned around and began to run down the hallway to reach the exit before the guards would arrive.


	5. Chapter V

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all who read the last chapter and a special thanks to everyone who took the time to review.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter V

The streets of Sector Eight broke into pandemonium after the No. 1 Mako Reactor was destroyed. As chunks of the reactor rained down, people scrambled for shelter and tired to avoid the authorities, scared of being mistaken for fugitives. Due to this chaos, nobody seemed to notice as the door leading to the Mako Reactor blew open and a group of people emerged from the flames.

"Ow ow ow!!!" shouted Wedge as he rolled on the ground to get the flames off his clothes before they reached his skin.

"You okay Wedge?" asked Biggs.

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Okay everyone," said Barret, "Split up and rendezvous at the Sector Eight train station; we can't let those bastards catch us now!"

"H-hey, wait a sec," protested Cloud as he remembered why he was here in the first place.

An annoyed Barret stared back and replied against his vomit, "If this is about your money, save it 'till we're back at the hideout."

The members of AVALANCHE ran off in different directions, leaving only Cloud and John outside the destroyed door. John had hoped that Cloud would know where the train station was, but those hopes were dashed when Cloud asked a question.

"John, do you know where the train station is?"

"Don't you know?"

"Uhh… no actually."

"What? I thought that everyone in SOLDIER has been in Midgar at some point."

"I've been in Midgar before, but this is the first time that I'm in Sector Eight."

_Okay, so that won't work._

"Hmm, let's go up the stairs at least; we don't want to get caught."

Cloud merely nodded in agreement and the two set off to enter the Sector Eight City.

_At least I'll see Aeris here, hopefully…_

* * *

At the top of the Shinra Headquarters in the center of Midgar, President Shinra stood annoyed as he watched the smoke rise from the remains of the No. 1 Mako Reactor. 

_Damn, AVALANCHE has gone too far this time. I didn't consider them to cause much trouble aside from attacking some company trucks, but this will cost billions to repair._

He heard his cell phone ringing and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Good evening Mr. President, I trust I don't have to inform you of what just happened."

"No Reno, you don't. I'm looking at the results with my own eyes as we speak."

"AVALANCHE has to be crushed as soon as possible before they attack another reactor."

"Actually, they'll be doing the same thing to the No. 5 reactor tomorrow."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Heidegger had Corneo send a spy around the slums in Midgar to find where that man with the gun-arm was, apparently he's their leader."

"Corneo? Are you sure it's a wise decision to trust him with such an issue sir?"

"It's all right Reno; Corneo knows that we can kill him in an instant if he tires something. Anyway, the spy found out that AVALANCHE's hideout is in the Sector Seven Slums."

"I see, should I go there with Tseng and Rude and take care of them?"

"No, they might escape and regroup at another location and it will be much harder to find them again. No, I got a plan to insure that we wipe them out."

"And what might that plan be?"

"The day after tomorrow, when AVALANCHE is enjoying their "victory" at the No. 5 Reactor, we'll destroy the pillar which supports the city above the slums and blame them for it."

"D-destroy the pillar? But that will cost a fortune to repair."

"Don't worry about it; the citizens of Sector Seven will be proud that it was their sector which crushed a terrorist group, which will give us plenty of time to decide whether to repair Sector Seven at all."

"All right sir, the Turks are at your command."

"I hope you're ready Reno, you and Tseng will be going with the forces to make sure the job is done. In 48 hours, the Sector Seven Slums will be no more."

"Understood."

"I trust you Reno, good bye," said the President as he hung up the phone and pondered about AVALANCHE.

_Perhaps I should take a look at them myself…_

* * *

Cloud and John entered the main streets of Sector Eight and tried to figure out which direction the train station might be in. 

"Do you see any signs Cloud?"

"No, there are too many people to see anything."

As they tried to locate any of the AVALANCHE members from the crowds, John heard a familiar voice.

"John! Is that you?"

John and Cloud turned around to find Aeris running towards them, basket of flowers in hand.

"Aeris!" exclaimed John, trying to sound surprised, "What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just selling flowers over there when the reactor blew up," she explained before looking over at Cloud.

"Who's this John? Is he a friend of yours?"

"Oh, sorry for not introducing you. This is Cloud; he's an old friend of Tifa's."

_Tifa? She knows Tifa?,_ thought Cloud.

"Ah, well it's very nice to meet you Mr. Cloud," she said playfully while shaking his hand.

"Just Cloud will do."

"Hm, suit yourself then. So what are the two of you doing here then?"

John clumsily tried to come up with some explanation.

"Um, we had something important to do here."

Aeris looked him closely in the eyes with her emeralds before starting to speak.

"Important huh?" she said while taking a moment to look at what was left of the reactor, "Yeah, I guess that's a suitable answer for this."

"Wh-what?"

"Oh come on John, I grew up in the slums. I got a good look at those wires and I knew what they were for from the start. I have to say that the two of you are brave for actually going ahead with this."

John and Cloud looked at each other with wide eyes before looking back at Aeris.

"Um, thanks… I guess," said Cloud.

"Oh don't worry. I'm not going to give you away if you're thinking about that. But you can't stay here at the scene of the crime, you've got to escape."

"That's what we're trying to do," said John before slightly blushing with embarrassment, "but we don't know were the train station is."

"I'll show you, follow me."

The three of them made their way out of the crowds and stopped when they reached the fountain in the middle of the square.

"We have to go forward through that path and then to the left," said Aeris before continuing. The coast looked clear, but before they reached the turn, they heard voices behind them.

"Hey, stop!"

"Damn, Shinra soldiers!" said John.

"We've gotta hide her before they arrive. She shouldn't get involved," added Cloud.

John nodded in agreement as he scanned the area for a potential hiding place for Aeris, eventually finding a stack of boxes.

"Aeris over here," said John as the group approached the boxes, "stand behind these boxes and stay out of sight."

Aeris tried to protest, "B-but what about you?"

"We'll be fine. They can't find you. Promise me you'll stay here until they leave, no matter what happens."

Aeris looked at John to realize just how serious he was.

"O-okay, stay safe John. You too Cloud."

"Thanks," replied Cloud.

As Aeris made sure that she wasn't visible behind the boxes, John and Cloud got their weapons ready and ran out onto the main street to find a Shinra MP aiming a machine gun at them. John quickly sent a bolt flying at the soldier, knocking the machine gun out of his hand. Before the soldier could do anything else, he was kicked down by Cloud. More soldiers appeared from all sides and soon Cloud and John found themselves standing on the edge of the path, the train tracks below them. As the soldiers approached them with their weapons drawn, Cloud got an idea.

"John, give me that Fire materia you have."

John complied without questions and Cloud quickly placed the materia in his Buster Sword, linking it with the All materia. Cloud then concentrated on the two materias and sent fireballs flying at all of the soldiers in front of them. As the soldiers tried to defend themselves and dodge the projectiles, Cloud and John noticed a train coming out from the tunnel below them.

_This is our chance, _thought Cloud.

Cloud grabbed John's arm and jumped off the ledge, landing on the train. John was in shock as he tried not to fall off and Aeris let out a quiet gasp from behind the boxes. The soldiers looked at the escaping fugitives in frustration and tried to aim their machine guns at them as the train got farther and farther away. A few seconds later, the train was out of their aim and the soldiers went back to their designated positions, frustrated at their failure. Aeris stayed silent for a few minutes until she was absolutely sure that the soldiers were gone. She came out from her hiding place and approached the ledge where Cloud and John had been standing a few minutes ago. She was relieved not to find their bodies when she looked over the edge.

_Thank god they managed to get away, I hope they're okay. It was nice seeing John again, seems like he's doing fine. His friend Cloud seemed nice too, even though he didn't say much. I wonder if I'll see them again somewhere…_

Aeris looked up at the night sky which she usually saw little of due to her residence in the slums. She gave a short sigh before heading off for the train station by herself to catch the train to Sector Five.

* * *

The other members of AVALANCHE had managed to sneak into the baggage car of the train to Sector Seven. They thought that it would be best not to use the main door after the reactor explosion to stay on the safe side. Jessie had her head pointing down at her feet in sadness and disappointment. 

_Poor Cloud, poor John. I hope they managed to get away._

"Do you think they're okay?" she asked.

"Cloud was in SOLDIER, he'll make sure that the two of them stay alive," insured Biggs, although he was a bit uncertain as well. Barret was feeling a slight sense of loss as well.

_Dammit, I didn't want any losses or casualties on this mission and they had to go off and get lost somewhere. Tifa's going to be-_

He didn't have time to finish the thought as the baggage door was opened and John came flying in, falling face first onto the floor. As he lazily got himself up, Cloud jumped in from the same door, landing on his feet.

"Cloud! John! You're alive!" exclaimed Jessie, "we thought that you were goners."

Cloud merely smirked which seemed to really annoy Barret.

"That was reckless Cloud! You endangered your life and the life of another person, not to mention that you could have given the whole group away. I'm deducting that from your pay!"

Cloud looked to be slightly disappointed which filled Barret with pride.

_That should teach him!_

"Let's go take our seats," said Wedge as he headed out before he was followed by the other AVALANCHE members. Once they entered the passenger carriage, Jessie ran to the other side to look at the map while everyone else took a seat. Cloud sat don next to John, who still looked a bit frightened after the experience.

"John, you okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm uh… sorry for doing that without warning you first. I saw a way out and it looked like the only way."

"I understand, thanks. I wouldn't want to stay there with those guards anyway. I'm just worried about Aeris; I hope she didn't get caught."

"Judging by how distracted they were with us, I don't think they would have seen her if she stayed still."

"I hope you're right Cloud."

_He probably is, Aeris knows how to get around these places, it's not like it was her first time to be followed by Shinra._

They stayed quiet for a while before Cloud decided to ask a question.

"How do you know each other?"

"Who?"

"You and that girl. And how does she know Tifa?"

"Oh, right before Tifa and I found you, I had to go to Sector Five to get wires for the detonator. I got lost and ended up at her church."

"A church?"

"Yeah, she has a church where she grows flowers, it's really something."

"Flowers? Here?"

"I know, it doesn't sound possible, but somehow they manage to grow there. Anyway, she helped me get the wires and then "offered" to help me get back to Sector Seven. Tifa was waiting there and that's how they met."

"I see…" said Cloud before going silent again.

John's mind had drifted off to something else that had happened at the church, something that he wasn't sure if he wanted to think about.

_Those voices…what were they?_

* * *

When the train pulled up at the train Station in the Sector Seven Slums, the members of AVLANCHE got off and headed straight for Seventh Heaven, where a very relieved Tifa was waiting for them. 

"I heard about the explosion on the news. Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're all fine," said Barret before adding, "We came really close to losing your boyfriends though."

"What?" asked Tifa, very confused and surprised.

"Cloud and John didn't make it to the train station and were almost left behind. They somehow managed to jump onto the train itself," explained Jessie.

"What?! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine Tifa," answered John, "we found Aeris and she tried to take us to the train station, but Shinra soldiers found us on the way and had to act quickly."

"Aeris? Is she here with you?"

"No, we had to hide her so she wouldn't get involved. Hopefully she managed to get away."

"I hope she did. So whose idea was it to jump on the train?"

"Cloud came up with it out of the blue after the soldiers surrounded us."

"Ah, I see," said Tifa before walking over to Cloud.

"So what are you going to do now Cloud?"

"I'm getting my money and leaving. Barret, where's my pay?"

"Geez, is that all you can think about?" asked Barret as he took out some money from his pocket, "Here!"

Cloud took the money and then looked to find only a purple 1000 gil bill and a green 500 gil bill.

"1500 gil? Are you serious?"

"Yup that's what you're getting cause of your antics."

Cloud shot an annoyed look at Barret before turning around.

"Well then, I guess I'll be going now."

_Oh no, he's leaving! I've got to act fast, _thought Tifa.

"Cloud wait! Please join us. We could use your help again at the No. 5 Rector tomorrow."

"Sorry Tifa, this is where I get off this train. It was great seeing you again, but I don't care about this cause. I got what I wanted and now I'm out of here."

Barret took the elevator to the bottom floor with Biggs, Wedge and Jessie as he yelled, "Don't even think about giving us away to Shinra!"

Tifa gave a quick sigh before continuing her attempts.

"Cloud, the planet is dying. What will your money mean if there's nothing left?"

"Well then, I guess I better make the most out of time I have left."

"So this is it then huh? You won't even keep your promise?"

"Promise? What are you talking about Tifa?"

"…so you did forget. Remember? It was seven years ago, before you left to join SOLDIER."

John watched as Cloud seemed to go into a semi-trance as he tried to remember over the holes in his mind.

"I'm sorry Tifa. I'm not a hero and I'm not famous, I can't help you."

"But you did join SOLDIER; you got your childhood dream. Come on, please stay. If not for the planet, then for me…"

"Tifa…"

Cloud looked over at John, trying to use eye language to ask him for some advice. John apparently understood this and decided to speak up.

"At least stay for the next mission and decide whether you want to stay longer after that."

"Yes, please Cloud! Don't leave yet!"

_You can't go! I have to find out what's wrong with you!_

Cloud tried to say something but saw that he was fighting an uphill battle.

"…fine, I'll stay. But only for this mission, but I'm still getting paid and I want my money in advance this time."

Tifa quickly nodded and called Barret, who came up the elevator with Marlene in hand.

"I heard everything. I hope you realize that I'm doing this for you Tifa."

Tifa nodded and looked at the ground as Barret took out two purple bills and a green bill before thrusting them at Cloud.

"Here, take it! I know that you couldn't care less about our cause, but you're helpful none the less."

Cloud took the money out of his hand and walked out the door to get some air. John looked over at Tifa, who had sat down on one of the bar stools and seemed to stare at her hands. He took a seat next to her and tried to console her.

"Tifa…"

"I'm all right John. Don't worry about me."

There was a moment of silence before Tifa spoke again.

"Thanks."

"Thanks? For what?"

"For reaching out to Cloud and connecting with him. He didn't really talk to anyone when he was little; he always seemed to keep to himself. However, he seems to talk to you for some reason. I've never seen him laugh like he did yesterday."

"Oh…" was John's reply.

They stayed silent for a while longer before John got up.

"I'll try to find Cloud."

Tifa nodded in agreement and smiled.

"John?" she said as he was about to go out.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks again."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

John looked around him as he walked down the stairs but he couldn't see Cloud anywhere. He decided to get some more materia as the party would build up soon. He went over to the item shop and purchased Fire, Ice and Lighting materias. The final cost came out to be 1800 gil and John handed over the blue 5000 gil bill. In return, he got 3 purple 1000 gil bills and a 200 gil coin. As he came out of the Item Shop, he glanced over at the Weapon Shop and figured out where Cloud might be. He turned out to be correct as Cloud was sitting on the same bile of boxes where they had talked the previous day. 

"I knew I'd find you here," said John as he got up to sit next to Cloud, who stayed silent.

"Cloud, why are you so eager to get out of here anyway?"

"…I told you, I'm a mercenary and I don't want to stay in one place. Besides, the longer I stay here…"

"Hm?"

"…Tifa will try to keep me here again and again, so it's best that I leave sooner rather than later."

"You mean that?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And do you have any place to go once you leave?"

"Not really, but I can get by."

"What if Shinra finds you? After helping AVALANCHE, you'll probably be wanted if they get your name from their records."

"Maybe, but I'll lay low for a while somewhere until it blows over. Are you going to stay after this mission?"

"I don't know. First, I'll go and find Aeris to make sure that she's safe, but I have no idea what I'll do after that."

"Do you have any place to go?"

John shook his head as another moment of silence came upon them. A few minutes later, John jumped off the boxes and walked over to the door.

"Let's go, Tifa will probably have dinner ready."

Cloud nodded before following John back to Seventh Heaven.

* * *

After a quiet dinner and a night of sleep, the team assembled at the train station. Marlene had been left to watch after the bar. Tifa and Barret had purchased Iron Bangles earlier that day and were as ready as they could be. Barret began with another short speech as he had done the previous day, 

"All right everyone, yesterday's mission was a success! Shinra's on to us now, that's why we have to make this explosion even bigger! You all know what to do, let's move out!"

As they were getting on the train, Jessie ran up to John.

"John, I found out why the detonator was set for only 5 minutes yesterday. It was my fault, I accidentally put it for five minutes at first to make sure that the timer worked and then I forgot to change it."

"Don't worry about it; we're all made it out didn't we?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Jessie as she smiled.

With that, John and Jessie boarded the train heading for the No. 5 Mako Reactor. About fifteen minutes after the train had departed, another train pulled up to the station and a red headed man in a suit got out with a few Shinra soldiers. He walked over to where the pillar supporting the city stood and looked it up and down.

_It'll be some sight when this falls…_

He stared at it for several minutes, studying the defenses before going through the gate into Sector Six with his guards.

_Hmm, the Ancient lives around here if I remember correctly. Maybe I should pay her a visit…_


	6. Chapter VI

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to the reviewers.

Devil-Speaker - I don't know if "powers" is the correct word to use, but John will find "something" out in the future, so I guess that's as close as he's gonna go towards that I think.

Malefactior - Thank you for always reviewing and I'm very glad that you're taking notice of John's interactions with the other characters. I'm planning to make this one of largest themes in the story.

I hope that all of you enjoy the chapter. I didn't have a lot of time to finish this up, so I'm sorry if it sounds rushed towards the end and for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter VI

After the train had left the station for the No. 5 Mako Reactor, John suggested that they properly arrange their materia while they had the time. John kept the Lightning materia in his Guard Staff and the Restore materia in his Iron Bangle, while Cloud placed the other Lightning materia in his Buster Sword with the All materia and put a Fire materia in his Iron Bangle. Tifa put an Ice materia in her Leather Glove and the other Restore materia in he Iron Bangle, while Barret placed the remaining Fire and Ice materias in his Assault Gun.

"Okay, then," said John, "We're ready now."

They all went back to their seats and sat down, waiting for the checkpoint to arrive as Jessie had told them. Cloud decided to take this time to ponder on what to do after they completed the mission.

_I should leave today after we finish, or maybe tomorrow at the latest. Something went wrong at the reactor yesterday, and I'm not talking about the detonator. There was something about that voice, something familiar…and something haunting. Maybe I should stay a while longer until I figure out what it is, but I couldn't do that. It would be even harder to leave then. Tifa won't be happy about it, but she'll be okay I guess. She's got Barret to look after her and the rest of the group as well. I probably wouldn't be able to do any good for her, just like I couldn't do anything to stop Sephiroth from attacking her back then…_

Cloud thought back to when he found Tifa at the bottom of the stairs in the Nibel reactor five years ago, blood pouring from the wound which the Masamune had inflicted on her.

_Tifa, I couldn't help you…_

Cloud tried to take his mind off of that memory and glanced around the train, his eyes eventually resting on a rather worried John.

_He's probably worried about that girl…I hope that she managed to get home safe. Aeris…she didn't really look cut out for life in the slums, but looks aren't everything I guess._

Cloud was right to an extent to what John was thinking about, but there was more to it as well.

_Aeris…I guess I'll know soon if she's safe or not. If everything goes right at the reactor and Cloud ends up falling, she'll find him. I wish he didn't have to fall, but then Aeris would get captured by Reno and Cloud would leave Midgar by himself. Hmm…I guess I'll go to Sector Five after the mission if everything happens like it should. Another option could be going with Tifa to Corneo's mansion and meeting Cloud and Aeris there, but I don't think I'll get in for obvious reasons._

Tifa was using the time to think about what she would do after the mission as well.

_Cloud…I've got to think of a way to get him to stay. But what can I do? I guess I can try to talk to him again, but I doubt that will work. I can try to get John to ask him to stay, but I don't think even he will be able to convince Cloud to do that. I'm still amazed at how quickly John and Cloud managed to connect; I guess it's a guy thing or something like that._

Just then, the lights suddenly turned red to everyone's surprise. Jessie had said that they had more time than that. Realizing her own mistakes, Jessie ran to the other AVALANCHE members, who had just gotten up from their seats.

"Damn, they must have moved the checkpoint, we've got to get into the next car before we're locked in," she explained. The team obeyed without question as they began running from car to car to avoid getting locked in. John remembered that someone in one of the cars was meant to try to steal from Cloud so he kept a close eye on the other people in the cars. Soon enough, his memory proved correct as he saw a man quickly put his hand into Cloud's pocket and pill out a blue bill. However, the thief had no place to run as John slammed him in the stomach with his staff, sending him flying back and onto the floor. As one of the random female passengers let out a weak scream, John took the bill from the dazed thief and handed it back to Cloud.

"You gotta be more careful."

"Thanks."

Within less than a minute, the team was at the end of the last car. Jessie opened up the door of the moving train and motioned to the others that it was time.

"Let's go guys. You four go first and then we'll follow after wrapping up back here. We'll meet at the entrance to the main reactor."

Barret nodded and was the first to jump off, followed by Tifa and then Cloud. John didn't want to get left behind and wasted no time in jumping after him.

* * *

The fall wasn't as bad as John thought it would be. He rolled up in a ball just as he was about to hit the ground and so the worst he ended up with was a slightly scraped elbow. The others were slightly ahead of him and waited while he ran up to them. 

"You okay?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah," replied John.

Before they even had a chance to move, they heard sounds of something moving on the ground nearby. They looked back at the direction which John had come from and saw four Grashtrikes rushing towards them. Cloud acted fast and launched a fireball at them using his Fire materia, hitting one and sending it sliding back while his teammates got ready to fight. John and Tifa rushed forward towards the leftmost one. Tifa was quick to do a slide kick and sent it flying up, allowing John to hit it hard with his staff and send it crashing into the wall, the Grashtrike's skull smashing upon impact. Barret began to fire on the remaining two, killing one and wounding the other. Cloud ran up to the wounded one and quickly stabbed it before it had the chance to make a move. The remaining Grashtrike which cloud had hit with a fireball earlier was trying to get close enough to Tifa to attack her when John launched a bolt spell, instantly killing it.

"Let's go before more of them come," said Cloud.

The others wasted no time and soon they saw something disappointing at the end of the tunnel: security sensors.

"Damn, we can't go any further," said Cloud in an annoyed tone.

John pretended to look around before kneeling left of the blocked path, his eyes coming across the opening of a small chute that was large enough to fit people in.

"Hey, we can use this," said John.

Barret looked at the opening and got a bad feeling.

"Ya sure there's no other way? It looks kind of small…"

"Small or not, it seems like that's our only way into the reactor," said Cloud before John had a chance to respond.

The group made their way down the chute with Cloud leading the way. Eventually they found themselves on a path with stairs ahead of them. After finding a red vial with ether in it, the group descended down some more stairs, coming down to an open area. It didn't take them long to see three Special Combatants running at them. One of them pointed his arm at the team and launched a blue blast from it. The group managed to dodge the attack and barred launched a fire spell at him, hitting his mask and momentarily blinding him. During this time, Barret shot several bullets at the Special Combatant, killing him after a few shots. One of the other Special Combatants had engaged in close combat with Tifa and was badly losing. Due to the heaviness of the weapons on his arms, he was too slow to land a blow in on Tifa, who shot out punch after punch as they neared the railing. Once they were close enough, she delivered a jump kick, sending him over the edge. The last one was easily dispatched of as John hit him in the stomach with his staff as the Special Combatant tried to launch a beam at him. While the Special Combatant was holding his stomach and trying to regain his composure, Cloud stabbed him from the side, instantly killing him.

"Is that all?" asked Tifa.

"I don't think so," said John as he heard rapid steps approaching them. He looked ahead and saw a single Blood Taste rushing at him. As it tried to jump onto John, he launched about attack, hitting the Blood Taste's Stomach as it was above John and sending it over the edge of the railing, its howls disappearing as it hit the ground far below.

"We have to go before more come," said Cloud.

The team rushed towards the next set of stairs and were about to ascend as they heard a sound behind them. Cloud was quick enough to barely notice a rocket just missing him and blowing up as it hit the wall behind the stairs. Thankfully, the team was too far away to be injured by the blast. John saw that there was a Rocket Launcher in the back and it wouldn't be long before more rockets would come flying.

"Hurry!" exclaimed John, "we don't have much time."

The other members of AVALANCHE climbed the stairs while John destroyed the rockets with bolt spells. When the others reached the top, Cloud looked down and saw that John wasn't getting any time to climb as he was busy shooting the rockets with bolt spells.

_He won't be able to stop them for long…_thought Cloud as he hastily tried to decide what to do. His worries were correct as John was finding it harder and harder to cast spells. He pointed his staff up, preparing to cast another spell when he noticed another bolt come from above him to destroy the next rocket. He looked up and saw Cloud casting spells to give him time to climb up.

"Hurry John, I won't be able to hold the rockets off for long!"

John needed no further encouragement as he quickly climbed up the stairs to join the others. Afterwards, Cloud stopped casting spells and the team headed down the path to get to safety.

* * *

Eventually, they came to a hall where the path split and found Jessie there waiting for them, holding a detonator similar to the one which had been used in the last reactor attack. 

"It sure took you guys long enough to get here," she complained.

"Sorry, we ran into some trouble back there," explained John, exhausted from all the spells he had to cast in such a short amount of time.

"I can see that," said Jessie, noticing John's fatigue before she handed over the detonator to Barret.

"Guard this and make sure nothing goes wrong with it. Once you reach the core, give it to John and he'll know what to do. And don't worry; I set the timer to fifteen minutes, so you'll have plenty of time to escape. It's also impossible to turn the timer off once it starts, so you don't have to worry if the enemy finds it once you leave."

John and Barret nodded in understanding as Jessie started to head towards the left path.

"Take the other path to get to the reactor. You should see Biggs along the way; he wanted to make sure that you get into the reactor safely."

Jessie went down the stairs at the end of the left path while John leaned back against the wall. Cloud looked at him and saw that he was more tired from casting the spells than he was letting on.

"Maybe we should rest for a few minutes," suggested Cloud.

"No no, I'm fine. Don't worry," panted John as he took out the ether which he'd picked up earlier and drank it down, feeling a significant amount of fatigue disappearing.

"There, see? I'm fine now. Let's go."

Cloud saw that he wasn't fully recovered yet, but knew that there was no point in arguing with him. They had to complete the mission before Shinra came in full force anyway. After going down another set of stairs, the team saw Biggs waiting at the bottom of more stairs.

"Hey guys, did Jessie give you the detonator?"

"Yeah, we have it," said Barret as he showed Biggs the explosives.

"Okay then, the reactor is up these stairs. We'll be waiting back at the hideout. The next train leaves in just over half an hour and thankfully, it doesn't react with the ID checkpoints since it's a very old model, so try to do this as quickly as you can."

"Understood," said Cloud as Biggs walked off and up the stairs which the group had come down a few moments ago. The team then went up the stairs that Biggs had mentioned and entered the reactor, where they saw that there was a massive pipe leading to the bottom and nothing else.

"So…I guess we have to slide down this?" asked John.

"Looks like it…" said an uncertain Cloud. He turned around and looked at his teammates, realizing pretty quickly that he would have to be the first to go. He knelt down and put his feet on the pipe.

_Here goes nothing._

Cloud pushed off the ledge and went sliding down to the bottom, careful not to fall off. Once he reached the bottom, he looked up at the others and motioned at them to come down. John decided to go next and followed the same strategy as Cloud as he tried to keep his center of gravity from moving. After him came Tifa and then Barret, who had the hardest time keeping his weight correct due to his gun arm. After checking that everyone was all right, the team set off for the reactor core.

* * *

The reactor was largely similar to the No. 1 Mako Reactor from the previous day, so AVALANCHE knew their way. After a few more battles where John tried to use as minimal magic as possible, the team ended up on the bridge leading to the reactor core, as well as with 500 extra Gil and three more ethers. Barret was the first to approach the core and got his gun-arm ready in case any enemies tried to sneak up on them while John was setting the timer. Cloud was walking behind Barret, but as he neared the reactor core, he suddenly stopped and put his hand on the railing. He put his hand on his head as he tried to keep the images of Tifa mourning her father out of it. 

"Cloud, are you okay?" asked John as he slowly approached him.

Cloud looked at Tifa with a sad look in his eyes before slowly shifting his gaze to John.

"Y-yeah... Come on, let's finish this."

John approached the reactor core and took the detonator from Barret as Tifa stayed on the bridge and took a concerned glance over at Cloud. John placed the detonator on the reactor core as he had done during the last mission and pressed the red button. He stared cautiously at the timer, which soon showed fifteen minutes to his relief.

"Okay, it's correct this time. Let's hurry up and get out of here," said John.

The team was quick to run from the reactor core, avoiding battles as often as they could. After a few minutes, they reached the room at the top of the stairs where the elevator was in the last reactor. As they checked the door which leads to the exit, they noticed that it was locked.

"Hmm, what now?" asked Cloud.

Tifa ran into the side room and saw three panels on a table.

"Hey, come over here! I think I found something!"

Once the team was assembled in front of the panels, Tifa took a closer look at how the mechanism worked.

"Hmm…looks like we have to press all of them at once."

"Ya sure?" asked Barret.

"Only one way to find out I guess…"

"Then you three do it, I don't wanna get involved in something that might get us all blown up!"

Barret went to watch the door, while the rest of the team arranged themselves so that John was standing on one side of the table and Cloud and Tifa were on the other.

"Okay then. Ready, you two?" asked Tifa, to which Cloud and John both replied with a nod. The three of them raised their arms and brought them down at the exact same time, opening the door where Barret was standing.

"Hey Tifa! You were right, it did open!" exclaimed Barret.

"Okay then, let's get out of here," said Cloud as everyone rushed out of the reactor.

* * *

To everyone's surprise except John's, a horde of Shinra soldiers greeted the on the bridge once they exited the reactor. 

"Damn, what is this?!" exclaimed Barret as they wound up in the middle of the bridge.

"This doesn't look too good…" said Tifa in a very worried tone.

Just then, the four members of AVALANCHE heard footsteps approaching from the other building. They watched with shock as President Shinra was revealed to be the cause of the footsteps.

"Ah, you must be that group that blew up the No. 1 Reactor yesterday," the President said with a sinister smile as he approached the group and stopped a safe distance from them.

"It's AVALANCHE, you sick +#!" exclaimed Barret as he was filling with anger.

"Oh well," sighed the President, "I can't say you're much to look at like this."

As Barret had to control himself from launching a hail of bullets in rage, Cloud approached the president and left the bridge that the others were standing on.

"Long time no see, President."

"Hmm? Who are you? Oh, now I know. You must be that SOLDIER who quit and joined AVALANCHE, right? Tell me, what is your name?"

"It's Cloud."

"Hmm…Cloud. Doesn't really ring a bell, but I guess I can't be expected to remember everyone's name unless they turn out to be another Sephiroth. Now he was one of a kind…"

"Sephiroth…"

"Now then, unfortunately I cannot stay with you for long. But don't fret, I've brought along a playmate," announced the President as he snapped his fingers and a massive machine on wheels arrived behind Cloud, cutting him off from the others.

"Allow me to introduce you to Air Buster, he's a novel Techno SOLDIER."

"Techno SOLDIER?" questioned a confused Tifa, "This is from SOLDIER?"

"Very well then," said the President as a helicopter came down for him to board, "I shall be on my way now, good day."

"GET BACK HERE!!!" yelled Barret as he tried to shoot the helicopter down. However all his attempts were in vain as the President safely escaped.

The team had other problems to worry about however, as Air Buster was ready to fight. The team just managed to get their weapons ready when Air Buster charged forward towards Tifa, John and Barret. Tifa was quick to act by casting an ice spell and hurling a shard at Air Buster, which was enough to slow his approach. Tifa then used this to her advantage by running towards the machine, jumping halfway through and delivering a strong kick, sending it rolling backwards. While it was trying to stop, Cloud rushed forward and delivered a powerful slash across its back. Air Buster started to slightly roll forward again before stopping and using its jetpacks to momentarily levitate as it turned around and landed, now facing Cloud. It then opened up its hands and a ball of energy began to gather between them.

"Watch out Cloud!" yelled Tifa.

Cloud managed to duck and avoid the beam, concentrating on his Fire materia and launching a fireball at Air Buster's head, trying to do what John had done to the Guard Scorpion during the last mission and take out its sight. Cloud's attempt proved to be successful as the red screen shattered and sparks flew out. During this time, Barret had managed to charge up a Big Shot attack and launched the massive red ball at Air Buster's unguarded back. The attack made a direct hit and one of Air Buster's jet packs was blasted off while the other was seriously damaged. Air Buster tried to use the other to fly up and turn around, but just as he turned around, the jet pack started to malfunction and he fell hard onto the bridge, shaking it. He then prepared the cannon behind his head and launched a bomb at Tifa's side. John was quick to react and launched a bolt spell while the bomb was still in mid-air. The resulting explosion was powerful enough to send John, Tifa and Barret flying back, sending the Shinra Soldiers running in fear as Air Buster was hit by the blast as well and started to send off sparks. Cloud decided to take this opportunity and deliver a finishing blow, so he ran up to the machine and plunged his sword deep into its circuits. Cloud barely had enough time afterwards to pull it out and start to run before Air Buster suddenly exploded.

"Cloud!" yelled Tifa as they ran back to where Air Buster used to stand, which was now replaced with a massive gap in the bridge. As the smoke cleared, they saw Cloud on the other side, hanging on a piece of metal that was about to snap.

"Damn it, he's too far away," said John.

"Don't worry about me, get out of here," said Cloud.

Tifa was desperately trying to find a way of helping him, but could see nothing which could help her. As the metal bar was about to break off, John decided to speak.

"Listen Cloud, don't die, you got that? Just stay alive and I promise I'll come and find you in the slums, okay?"

Cloud looked into John's hazel eyes and understood that he was being serious. He only had time to reply with a short, but firm nod before the bar snapped and he went plummeting to the slums below.


	7. Chapter VII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all who read the last chapter and a special thanks to Malefactior for reviewing.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter VII

Tifa, John and Barret watched until Cloud's falling form was no longer visible to the naked eye. They stayed silent for a few moments afterwards until John remembered something.

_The detonator!_

"Guys, the reactor's gonna blow up any second, we've got to get out of here. It won't exactly look well if Cloud comes back and we're all dead."

Tifa nodded and slowly diverted her eyes from the slums below.

"D-do you think that he survived John?"

John simply smiled and replied, "Yup, I'm sure of it. Cloud's tough, I bet this was nothing for him."

Tifa gave a weak, but optimistic smile in response.

"Yeah, you're right."

_I hope you are John, I really do._

The remaining members of AVALANCHE wasted no time afterwards as they ran into the nearby structure to safety, with John quickly picking up a Titan Bangle from Air Buster's debris. Less than ten seconds after the team had vanished from the bridge, the detonator did its job and the No.5 reactor was destroyed by a massive explosion from within, sending the City of Sector Five into momentary chaos.

* * *

A few moments before said explosion, Aeris was calmly tending to the flowers in her church as she mused over the happenings of the previous day. She had managed to get home using the train without being followed by Shinra or the Turks to her surprise.

_I thought that they would have tried to capture me during all the confusion, but I guess I was wrong. Tseng must be busy with something else then…_

Before she could ponder that thought further, a crash was heard above as a figure dropped into the flowers on his back. Aeris quickly jumped back in shock at what had happened and fell to the floor. After a few moments, she tried to get up, but ended up falling again as an explosion sounded out throughout Sector Five and the rest of Midgar.

_What was that?!_

She waited for a few seconds afterwards before trying to get on her feet again, this time with success. After dusting herself off, she slowly walked towards the person in the flowers, relieved to see that he was breathing and looked strangely unscathed by the fall.

_That's John's friend! Cloud was his name if I remember correctly…I guess he and John did manage to get back to Sector Seven safely then…_

That was when she realized what had just happened in the city above her.

_They must have destroyed the Sector Five Reactor, that's what the explosion was. But then why is only Cloud here? Did he do this alone? I better wake him up to make sure that he's ok._

"Hello? Are you ok? Hello?"

After a few more attempts, she saw blue eyes open to meet her green ones. Cloud was surprised at who he was seeing.

_Aeris! She's safe! But why is she here? Wait, where is here?_

"So, we meet again Cloud."

"H-hi," said Cloud as he slowly got up, "Aeris correct?"

"Yup, that's my name," she replied with a warm smile, "You sure you're okay? That must have been quite a fall."

"Yeah, I'm sure. What is this place anyway?"

"This is a church in the Sector Five Slums, the roof and the flowers must have broken your fall."

"Flowers?" said Cloud as he looked down, before quickly jumping onto the wooden floor before doing any more potential damage, "Sorry about that."

"That's ok, Cloud. The flowers don't have any trouble growing here for some reason," she said as she knelt down to inspect them nonetheless. While she was making sure that they were all right, Cloud took a look around him at the church.

"Wow, John was right, this place is really something."

"John told you about this church?"

"Yeah, he said that his is where he met you."

"Hehe, yeah, that's true," she said with a playful laugh before deciding to ask some questions.

"So I take it this reactor attack was a success as well?"

"W-what?" asked Cloud in surprise before remembering what had happened in Sector Eight.

_That's right, she's a tough one to fool I guess._

"Yeah, I think so… I just hope John and the others got out safely."

"John was there?" asked a rather surprised Aeris as she got up to face Cloud.

"Yeah, he was there."

"I-is he ok?"

"Yeah, he was worried about you."

"About me?"

"Yeah, he wanted to know if you'd gotten home safe."

"Well, as you see, I did. Shinra didn't see me."

"John's going to be relieved to hear that."

"What about you Cloud, were you worried about me?" she asked with a curious smile.

"What?" he asked, strangely shocked by the question as he started to blush, "Y-yeah, I guess I was."

Aeris started to slightly giggle when Cloud remembered something else.

"Come to think of it…"

"Hmm?"

"John said something about finding me here in the slums before I fell…"

"He's gonna come here then? Well then Cloud, I am going to look after you until he does," she said with a proud look on her face.

Cloud shook his head in confusion before asking, "Look after me?"

"Yeah, John must be worried about you if he saw you fall. So I'm gonna make sure that you're in one piece when he comes," she said in a giddy tone.

Cloud had no idea how to reply to that, so he merely scratched the back of his head while Aeris laughed.

"Hmm…as of right now, you seem to be fine, so I guess I'm doing a good job then!" she said between lighthearted laughs.

Cloud couldn't do much except try to keep from blushing as Aeris's laughs died down.

"So anyway, since we're going to be in each other's company for a while at least, I think we should get to know about each other. As you probably guessed back in Sector Eight, I'm a flower girl. And you would be?"

"Me? Well, I do a bit of everything," replied Cloud, who had finally seen an opportunity to make himself look big.

"Ah, a jack of all trades then," said Aeris with a coy smile. She had wanted to talk more with him in the same manner, but the sound of footsteps made her look over at the door to find a red headed man in a suit with some Shinra soldiers.

_Reno! What do I do? Hmm… All right then Cloud, let's see how good you'll be at this…_

"Listen Cloud, since I'm doing you a favor by making sure that you'll be safe when John arrives, can you do this same for me?"

"What?" asked Cloud, slightly confused by the situation.

"Can you make sure that I get home safe? You know, like a bodyguard."

"A bodyguard…"

"Come on, do you think that John will be happy if you tell him that you let me be captured? Besides, if you do a really good job…I know, I'll go out with you on a date, how about that?" asked Aeris, trying to cut off every way out for Cloud.

_What is she talking about? Captured? Wait a sec, that's…_

"All right Aeris, I'll get you out of here," said Cloud before walking a bit closer towards the red headed man to get a closer look.

"Do I know you?" asked Cloud before replying to his own question, "Yeah, I know you."

Reno gave Cloud a very weird look before starting to advance on him.

"Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers!" exclaimed Aeris before Cloud walked back closer to her, "the exit's back here Cloud. Hurry, let's go!"

Once Aeris and Cloud had run to the back area of the church, Reno and his soldiers followed close behind, not showing any remorse as they accidentally trampled some of the flowers.

* * *

Meanwhile in the city above the slums, Tifa, John and Barret had managed to get to the Sector Five train station without getting captured before the train had left.

"Whew, we made it!" exclaimed Tifa, "Let's go, we have to hurry before they find us! They might know our faces!"

Tifa and Barret were getting ready to board the train when they saw that John was not moving.

"John, what is it?" asked Tifa, partially knowing what he was going to ask.

"Listen guys," said John before asking a question, "Can you please tell me how to get to the slums below this city?"

"You're going to try to find Cloud, aren't you?" asked Tifa.

John nodded in response before Barret hesitantly answered John's question.

"If ya really have to, go back the way we came and pretty soon, you'll see a sign that tells ya to go left to get to the top of the Sector Five pillar. There's an elevator there which should take you to the slums. It's not very guarded usually, but they probably tightened security after the explosion, so be careful."

"Thanks, you guys hurry up and get back to the hideout. I'll come back with Cloud when I find him," said John, despite knowing that things would probably turn out in a different way.

"John, wait!" called Barret as John was turning to leave, "take my materia, you never know what could happen with Shinra going mad about the reactor explosion."

Barret took out the Fire and Ice materias from his Assault Gun and held them out to John.

"Barret, you sure about this?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. If I have to fight Shinra alone, it'll be best if it's just me and my gun-arm, trust me."

"Okay, if you say so," said John as he nervously took the materia from Barret.

_He could have used those when the pillar is attacked, but I guess he is sorta right…_

John placed the Ice materia in his Titan Bangle which he had equipped after exiting the reactor and put the Fire materia in his pocket. He was about to turn around and start running when he was stopped again, this time by Tifa.

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"…stay safe ok?" she implored with a nervous smile.

"Sure, don't worry about it, you watch yourself as well, Shinra's probably going to try even harder to get us now."

"Right!" replied Tifa with a nod.

"See you guys soon," said John as he finally turned around and started to run back in the direction of the reactor. Tifa watched as his form vanished in the panicking crowds.

_Cloud…you should be thankful, you really should be…_

With that thought, Tifa silently got on the train with Barret. They had expected to find a few Shinra soldiers here, but to their relief there was nobody else in the car that they had chosen. The train departed about twenty seconds later for the Sector Seven Slums.

* * *

Aeris grabbed her staff, which was leaning against the wall as she and Cloud entered the back area of the church. They ran around and climbed the stairs to get higher away from Reno and his soldiers. However, there was a gap in the path which Cloud easily managed to jump over, but Aeris wasn't so sure if she would be able to do the same.

"Aeris, jump!"

"I-I won't make it Cloud!"

"You have to; they'll catch you if you don't!"

Aeris looked below her to see Reno and his soldiers enter the back area as well. She momentarily locked eyes with Reno before turning back to Cloud.

"O-okay, I'll try…"

"The Ancient is getting away! Stop her!" shouted Reno. As Aeris tried to get herself ready for the jump, a hail of bullets sailed past her, causing her to lose her balance and fall into the gap, sliding down a large pipe until she was at the bottom of the church.

"Aeris!" shouted Cloud.

"Go down there and get her!" ordered Reno and the three Shinra soldiers jumped down and approached Aeris, who had gotten up just in time to see the danger coming her way.

"Cloud, help!"

Cloud watched as Aeris tightly gripped her staff, ready to fight if she had to.

_Damn, there's got to be something I can do…_

Cloud looked above himself to see barrels on the beams and got an idea.

"Aeris, wait a sec, I'm gonna try something."

Cloud quickly ran up another set of stairs and pushed down one of the barrels, which hit one of the soldiers who had tried to get closer to Aeris to grab her, knocking him out. She made her way towards the stairs, but was tackled quickly by one of the other soldiers and fell to the ground. Cloud knocked over the other two barrels, but both of them ended up missing their targets, leaving Aeris to fend for herself.

"Aeris, you have to fight them!" shouted Cloud from above.

Aeris grabbed her staff and swung at the nearest soldier's legs, tripping him and causing him to fall. She then got up and started to sing her staff down on his body repeatedly, eventually knocking him out. She had no time to switch to the other however, as he quickly tackled her to the ground again. Meanwhile, Cloud was watching from above and trying to think of how he could still help her. Suddenly, he got an idea and removed the Fire materia from his Iron bangle.

"Aeris, catch!" he shouted as he threw it to the bottom of the church. Aeris held her hands up to try to catch it, but missed it and the materia rolled into the corner. She quickly swung her staff around, which hit the soldier in his side and sent him swaying to the side as she ran off to the corner where the materia had rolled. She grabbed it and hastily placed it in her Guard Staff before turning around to face the Shinra soldier who was running towards her. She held out her staff and launched a fireball with the least of effort which quickly hit the soldier and set his clothes on fire. As he desperately tried to get them off, she ran up behind him and hit him on the back of his head with her staff, knocking him out. The fire on his clothes went down as he hit the ground and she headed towards the stairs. Reno could do nothing but watch as she ran up the stairs and jumped over the gap with newfound confidence and headed up to meet Cloud.

"Let's get out of here Cloud; we can use this hole that was made when you fell."

Cloud silently followed her as they jumped to the top of the roof to Reno's dismay. He stood still for a few minutes afterwards, contemplating his failure.

_I hoped that this would be my lucky day, but it's not like catching her was my main goal anyway. I better go and get ready for tomorrow's attack._

With that thought, Reno turned around and slowly headed out of the church, this time making sure that he did not step on the flowers.

* * *

John ran through the crowds until he saw the sign which directed him west towards the pillar. After about two more minutes of running, he saw the very tip of the pillar coming out of the ground with a door in the middle.

_That must be the elevator, I gotta hurry!_

But as he took a closer look, he saw that there were three guards patrolling carefully around the elevator.

_They must think that whoever caused the explosion might try to escape to the slums, they're not exactly wrong either. There's got to be a way I can distract them._

John scanned the area around the elevator and saw a fire hydrant reasonably close to where one of the soldiers was standing. He got an idea and concentrated on the Lighting materia in his staff. A bolt quickly came out of the staff while the soldiers were looking in another direction and hit the fire hydrant, knocking off the top. Water came gushing out in all directions and hit one of the soldiers, knocking him over while catching the attention of the two others. They helped their friend up and then the three of them approached the fire hydrant to try to turn it off. During this confusion, John ran up to the elevator and quickly pressed the button. He quickly went to the side of the elevator when he saw one of the guards starting to turn their head in his direction. Thankfully, John was fast enough to avoid the guard's gaze and once the guard turned back to face the fire hydrant which was still dousing them with as much water as ever, he heard the elevator door open. John quickly ran inside and pressed button which looked like and arrow sign pointing down. He gave a relaxed sigh when the door closed and the elevator started heading down.

_I have to head to where the church is. They're most likely running from Reno by now._

When the elevator door opened again, John carefully looked around and made sure that there were no Shinra soldiers around before he stepped out. He didn't know which way the church was exactly, so he headed in the direction of the wall. Soon enough, he saw the weapon shop where he had gotten the wires for Jessie. Relieved at finally knowing where he finally was, he headed off in the direction of the church, hoping to find Cloud and Aeris along the way.

* * *

A few minutes before John had arrived in the slums and Reno had walked out of the church, Cloud and Aeris were walking on the random debris behind the church, trying to get to safety.

"Cloud, do you know who those guys were?" asked Aeris, deciding to test Cloud's knowledge on who Reno was.

"They're known as the Turks. They're an organization for Shinra and scout for possible candidates for SOLDIER, but they're also involved in shady stuff like murder."

_He basically hit the nail on the head for the most part, _thought Aeris.

"SOLDIER eh? Maybe they think I'm cut out for that," said Aeris with a slight laugh.

Cloud however, was not in a mood to laugh as he asked a serious question.

"Aeris, this wasn't the first time that they've tried to get you, wasn't it?"

"No," said Aeris as she looked down at her feet.

"Why are they after you?"

"I don't really know to be exact."

"How long have they been trying to do this?"

"For years, I remember running away from them many times when I was little."

_Years? What is it about her that they want?_ thought Cloud.

"And you've managed to avoid them for so many years?"

"Yup," said Aeris with a smile before she took control of the conversation, "You were in SOLDIER right?"

"Yeah"

"I knew it, I could tell it from the glow in your eyes."

_Just like him…_

"That's a mark of SOLIDER. When people join, they are infused with Mako. How do you know this? Have you known other people in SOLDIER?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah…" she said rather quietly. Cloud decided to stop asking questions and started to walk faster, reaching the ground rather soon.

"Wait, wait for me Cloud!" shouted Aeris as she carefully jumped down after him, looking rather exhausted.

"I though you were cut out for SOLDIER," said Cloud with a slight laugh.

"Hey, don't laugh!" exclaimed Aeris as she tried to catch her breath.

"I thought you were going to make sure I was in one piece when John came, looks like I'm doing my job better than you're doing yours."

"Oh, you're terrible," said Aeris as she started to laugh.

Just as the two of them were getting ready to be on their way, they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Cloud! You're safe!"

Cloud and Aeris turned around to see John running towards them. Aeris waved at John with a smile as he stopped in front of them to catch his breath.

"See Cloud? I told you I'd find you if you lived. Aeris, are you okay? Did you manage to get home safe?"

"Yeah John, I'm fine. They didn't see me after you guys jumped on the train."

"That's great to hear," said John as he looked over at Cloud.

"Are Tifa and Barret okay?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah, they managed to get on the train heading back to Sector Seven."

"What about you?"

"I'm ok too; Barret told me how to get here. I don't think I was followed by any Shinra soldiers, so I think we're safe."

"See Cloud?" asked Aeris playfully, "I did what I said I would. John's here and you're still in one piece, thanks to me."

"Oh? Did I miss something?" asked John in a playful manner rather similar to that of Aeris.

"Yeah, I made sure that Cloud would be safe by the time that you got here and he did the same for me."

"Did he now?"

"Yeah, he was my bodyguard," she said with a sly smile.

"And did he do a good job then?"

"For the most part."

"I was guarding you more than you were guarding me, that's for sure," said Cloud.

"Yeah well…" mumbled Aeris as she looked down at her feet before starting to walk ahead.

"Come on, my house is this way, we've got to go before he comes," she said before starting to run.

As Cloud and John followed behind, John asked a question to keep up his appearance.

"Who's he?"

"I'll explain later," said Cloud, "there's something here I don't like."

John was silent for the remainder of their trip as they followed Aeris towards her house. Eventually, they came upon a house with a massive garden next to it.

"Okay then, this is my house," announced Aeris, "Let's go inside, I want to introduce you guys to my mom, Elmyra."

Aeris opened the door and the group walked inside.

"Mom, I'm home!" shouted Aeris.

"Aeris?" called the voice of a female that came out of the kitchen. She looked to be somewhere in her forties or early fifties and had a concerned look on her face when she looked at Cloud and John.

"Aeris, who are these people?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"This is John, he was the guy I showed to Sector Seven a few days ago and this is Cloud, he's something like a bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" she gasped, "Were you followed again?"

"It's ok mom, I'm fine. I had Cloud with me."

"…thank you Cloud," said Elmyra.

Cloud nodded in response and there was a rather long minute of silence that followed which Cloud decided to break.

"I think it's time that John and I left, we've uh, got to be somewhere."

"Are you going to Sector Seven?" asked Aeris.

"Yeah," answered John, "Tifa's probably getting worried."

"Okay then, I'll show you guys the way," said Aeris with a smile.

"And put yourself in danger again?" asked Cloud, "Besides, John knows the way; you showed it to him, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but he can't be really sure that he remembers it now, can he? Come on, it'll save you time if I show you, right John?"

John simply stared at Aeris with a bewildered look as he asked, "Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely," she replied with a smile, "All right then, that settles it. I'm taking them to Sector Seven Mom, I'll be back soon."

"Aeris…" began Elmyra before deciding to change what she was going to say, "Oh all right, I can't argue with you dear. But at least go tomorrow, it's getting rather late now and the three of you look pretty tired."

"Hmm…okay mom. We'll leave first thing tomorrow. I'll go make the beds guys," said Aeris as she headed up the stairs. Elmyra stayed silent until the sound of a door opening and closing before she decided to speak again as she walked closer to Cloud.

"That look in your eyes…you were in SOLDIER weren't you?"

"Yeah," replied Cloud.

"I see…Listen; can the two of you please leave here tonight, without telling Aeris? She's had her feelings hurt too much already by SOLDIER and Shinra as it is."

"All right," answered Cloud as John decided to stay silent. Once Elmyra had smiled at them and walked back into the kitchen, Cloud turned to John.

"Let's go out to the garden, I need to talk to you about something."

John didn't need to look at Cloud to know that that something was Aeris as they went outside. However, none of them knew that all this time, Aeris had been right upstairs, keenly listening in after opening and closing one of the doors to give the illusion that she had gone into a room.

_Oh mom, you try so hard to protect me…_

* * *

In the meantime, Tifa and Barret had gotten back to the Sector Seven slums, on what was a relatively smooth ride compared to the one that took them to the reactor. Once they entered the bar, the other members of AVALANCHE were shocked that only two people had walked in instead of four.

"What happened to John and Cloud?" whispered Jessie so that a man strangely leaning against the wall wouldn't hear.

"They'll be back soon, hopefully," replied Tifa before asking, "What's wrong? Why are you whispering?"

"See that guy there against the wall? This isn't the first time he's been here. He's never ordered anything and a few times he's asked questions about what I think about Shinra. I think that he's a spy."

"A spy eh?" questioned Barret before looking over to the figure that they were talking about, "Lemme take care of this."

Without saying another word, Barret walked up to the man and grabbed him by the throat before slamming him down on a table and holding him. Thankfully, there was nobody else in the bar aside from this man and the members of AVALANCHE.

"WHO SENT YOU?"

The man tried to protest before Barret yelled even louder.

"SHATTUP, I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!!! AND YOU BETTER ANSWER IT IF YA WANNA LIVE!!!!!"

"D-D-Don C-Corneo, please don't hurt me."

"WHAT DID HE WANT?"

"…"

"WHAT DID HE WANT? ANSWER NOW!!!"

"…he wanted me to find out about AVALANCHE and where their hideout was."

"WHY?!"

"I don't know, I swear. Please, don't kill me."

Barret looked the man in the eyes and released him. As the man tried to get up, Barret used the same arm to punch him in the back of his head, knocking him out.

"Barret, isn't Don Corneo-" Tifa began to ask before Barret interrupted.

"Yeah, he's that guy in Wall Market that has those sluts brought to him every night."

"What do we do now?"

"I dunno Tifa, but we gotta do something, and fast!"

* * *

Cloud carefully searched around the garden to make sure that there was nobody there aside from him and John.

"John, do you know who the Turks are?"

"Turks? Aren't they those guys that work for Shinra? The ones in suits?"

"Yeah, they're the ones. Anyway, one of them tried to catch Aeris today."

"Aeris? Why?"

"I don't know, she told me that they've been trying to catch her for years."

"Years? They would have gotten her by now if they really wanted to, I think."

"That's what I thought too. The Turks usually do their jobs as quickly as possible."

"Hmm, wait a sec. She showed me some strange materia the other day that I'd never seen," said John.

"Strange materia?"

"Yeah, it was white and she said that it didn't do anything as far as she knew. Do you think that they could be after that?"

"A 'white materia'? Hmm, I've never heard of something like that, but I don't think that's what they're after. They would have just taken it and would have been on their way a long time ago. It's got to be more than that."

"Hmm…So it has to be Aeris herself that they're after, that's why they haven't hurt her."

"Exactly, she's too valuable to them for them to try something which could hurt her."

"But why is she so important to then?" asked John.

"I don't know, but Reno, the member of the Turks who was at the church today said something…"

"What did he say?"

"He called her an 'Ancient.'

"An Ancient?" asked John, trying to sound surprised.

"Do you know about the Ancients, John?"

"From what I know, they could communicate with the planet and understand what it was feeling or something like that."

"'Communicate with the planet?' That's interesting…"

"Yeah, it really makes you wonder. But what should we do about Aeris? They'll catch her sooner or later after we leave."

"…Are you thinking about taking her with us John?"

"Actually…yes, but then she'd be exposed more to Shinra and they might have more chances to get her."

"Hmm…that's true. We can decide this later if we have to though, she seems safe for now."

John nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, let's go back to the house before they come looking for us."

With that, the two of them quietly went back to the house to find Aeris as soon as they opened the door.

"There you are. Come on, let's go upstairs."

Aeris led them up the stairs and into a small room where there was one bed.

"I'm really sorry about this, but there's only one bed, so you'll have to work something out."

"It's okay," said John, "I can sleep against the wall. I've had to do it for the past few days anyway."

"Ok then," said Aeris with a apologizing tone in her voice, "Good night guys."

Aeris closed the door behind her and went into her room, closed the door and sat on her bed.

_I was really hoping to get some sleep tonight, but I guess I have to stay awake so they don't leave me…_

Meanwhile in the other room, John had sat down and was leaning against the wall, despite Cloud's protests.

"You don't have to do this John, you can sleep on the bed and I'll sleep there."

"No no, it's okay. You've had a big day, get some rest," said John as he closed his eyes.

Cloud had a guilty look on his face as he watched John quickly go to sleep before lying down against the bed.

_It's been a while since I've slept in a bed like this…_

And with that thought, Cloud drifted off to sleep as well.


	8. Chapter VIII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, I am thankful for all the people who have been reading the story up to this point and a special thanks goes out to all the reviewers.

Malefactior and I seem to be on the same page, as I'm not too fond of the cross dressing quest either, so I did something about it hehe.

Anyway, I have to say something first. For some reason, I was unable to upload this chapter as a word document, so I had to copy it into a text file, upload it like that, and re-italicize all the thoughts. I think I got them all because I checked it with the word file, but I'm really sorry something slipped by me. If you find something, please mention it and hopefully I'll edit it. All right? Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter VIII

Tifa stood in front of the mirror at the bottom floor of the bar looking at her new outfit which she had put over her usual attire. It was blue, and rather tight to say the least. The most uncomfortable parts were her two rather large breasts, which had been pushed up and pressed together by the leather so much that it hurt, especially since she had had to place her usual tank top under them without actually taking it off.

_This is so uncomfortable_, she thought as she scratched the area around her ribs where the tank top was, trying to relieve herself, but only ended up making it worse.

_Ugh, forget it; I don't have time to worry about that anyway._

She finished applying some makeup to the scar that Sephiroth had given her five years ago on her chest and looked closely into the mirror again to make sure that it was not visible.

_It's not as easy to notice as you'd think, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm the one who's supposed to be asking the questions, not Corneo._

They didn't know much about Corneo other than that he had three women "delivered" to him every night and he ended up choosing one to be his "bride." Barret had gotten a look at his mansion from one of his previous visits to Wall Market as had Tifa, so they knew that he would have plenty of time to escape if they attacked head on. So after some careful discussion, they had reluctantly decided that the only way to find out what Corneo planned to do with the information that the spy had given him was for Tifa to become that "bride" for tonight and corner Corneo when they were alone. If that part wasn't unsettling enough, Tifa knew that the other two basically ended up as meat thrown to the dogs, as in Corneo's horny lackeys.

_I swear, who the hell picks sex partners at 3:30 am? Then again, this is Midgar I guess. It doesn't really matter if it's day or night, you can't really tell in Wall Market anyway._

Barret had managed to convince someone in Sector Seven who owned a Chocobo to get her to Wall Market so that she wouldn't look too suspicious just walking through the streets by herself after coming out of the gate. As she continued to make final checkups on herself, her mind drifted to her friends which had been left behind in Sector Five.

_Cloud, John…I hope you guys are okay. I don't know why, but something tells me that we're going to need your help, and soon…_

She had just finished checking herself when she heard a voice from upstairs.

"Tifa, can I come down?"

"Yeah Barret, I'm done."

Barret came down on the elevator and tried hard not to stare at Tifa, who had all of her "attractions" accented by her outfit.

"You uhh, look…"

"Like a prostitute," finished Tifa with a strangely polite tone in her voice.

"…sorry that you have to do this Tifa, I really am."

"Don't worry about it Barret. Remember, this was my idea in the first place."

"I know. I just wish I could come with you and help you out. Corneo's place is a dangerous place for a girl to be."

"I can take care of myself Barret. Besides, you have to stay here to protect the hideout if Shinra comes. And if John and Cloud come back, you have to fill them in."

"I know Tifa, I know," sighed Barret.

"Is the guy with the Chocobo here yet?"

"He'll be here soon; he's getting a cart attached to it so that you look less suspicious."

* * *

"John. John, wake up," whispered Cloud s he poked his friend, who was still sleeping as he leaned against the wall. 

"Hm? Huh?" blubbered John as he awoke before his mind focused, "Is it time to go?"

"Yeah, we should be quiet so that Aeris doesn't notice. The light in her room is still on, so she's probably awake."

John nodded in agreement, despite thinking slightly otherwise.

_It doesn't really matter anyway; she's going to be waiting for us at the entrance to Sector Six no matter how quiet we are._

Still though, it wouldn't be the best idea to tell Cloud that as it would have been hard for John to explain himself. Therefore, the two of them silently walked out of the room and tiptoed to the stairs, quietly going down step by step. Unknown to them, it didn't matter how quiet they were, because sound wasn't what Aeris had been waiting for. As she lay on her bed looking at her door, she saw two slight shadows on the floor and smiled to herself.

_You guys have got to be kidding, you could have at least tried to jump down from the railing or something, this is too easy!_

She had to keep from laughing to herself as picked up her staff, got up and opened the window, quietly slipping out so that she wouldn't wake her mother. She closed the window behind her and carefully jumped down to the ground so that Cloud and John wouldn't hear. It wasn't her first time getting out of the house like this; she used to do this quite often several years back to meet her boyfriend for dates.

_I better hurry; I don't want them to see me yet._

She quickly started to run before Cloud and John came out of the house, giggling to herself. She ran through the slums without looking back until she reached the entrance to Sector Six. Once she had gotten there, she quietly sat down and leaned back against the wall. Soon enough, she saw John and Cloud coming her way and got up. Cloud had a surprised look on his face as he saw her, while John simply smiled to himself.

"I had a hunch that you'd be one step ahead of us," said John.

"In that case, why did you try to sneak out without telling me, hm?" asked Aeris, pretty much knowing what the response would be.

"We didn't want you to put yourself in danger," explained Cloud.

"Uh huh," said Aeris with a bored tone, "Let's go then, Tifa's waiting for you guys isn't she? You mustn't keep her waiting."

With that, she turned around and started to walk into Sector Six. Cloud opened his mouth to protest, but realized hat no matter what he said, it wouldn't make a difference. He sighed before following Aeris, with John by his side.

"We never really had a chance to get out of here without her noticing, did we?" whispered Cloud so that only John could hear.

"Nope, doesn't seem like it," replied John quietly as he tried not to laugh at the situation.

"Hey, what are you talking about back there?" yelled Aeris, who had already gotten on the other side of the bridge there, "We gotta hurry! Come on!"

Thankfully, she was patient enough to wait while Cloud and John got to her. The three of them then started to walk again, but didn't get far before they saw three Whole Eaters in their way, looking rather hungry with their many teeth moving at a disturbing pace.

"This shouldn't take long," said John, "Let's each take one and dispose of it,"

The others nodded their heads and each started running towards one. Aeris was quick to cast a fire spell at the one she chose, knocking it off its guard. Before it had a chance to recover, shed dealt a hard blow from the side before casting another fire spell, burning it to its death. John followed a similar attack plan, first casting a bolt spell and sending the Whole Eater flying back. Afterwards, he chose to use simply physical attacks as he rapidly pummeled the Whole Eater with his staff until it died. Cloud had chosen not to use magic attacks at all and simply rushed at his chosen Whole Eater with his sword. The Whole Eater tried to jump on him, but was cut in half with one quick slash.

"Let's hurry before more come," said Aeris before picking up her speed and dashing towards the playground, with Cloud and John following her at a slightly higher speed.

* * *

In a few minutes, they reached the playground without any more battles being fought to their relief. 

"Whew," said a rather relaxed Aeris as she leaned against the slide, "That wasn't exactly how I pictured starting my day."

"Then maybe you should have stayed behind," said Cloud with the cold tone that was usually present in his voice.

"And what if you two had gotten eaten? Hm? I'd have to answer to Tifa afterwards, haven't you thought of that?" said Aeris with a rather sarcastic tone.

Cloud simply rolled his eyes and looked to the side while John had to keep himself from laughing again. Suddenly, Aeris's tone changed to a more serious one.

"Cloud, what rank were you?"

"Rank? What rank?"

"In SOLDIER"

"Oh. I was…"

John watched carefully as Cloud's eyes seemed to go out of focus for a moment as he seemed to try hard to remember, too hard for his own liking.

* * *

By that time, Cloud had come back to reality as far as he could by this point and answered Aeris's question. 

"First Class."

"First Class…just like him," said Aeris in a quiet and melancholy tone.

"Him? Him who?" asked Cloud, confused at the comparison.

"My first love…" explained Aeris, still keeping the nearly silent tone in her voice.

"Oh," said Cloud, ashamed at his bluntness, "What was his name? Not a lot of people make it to First Class, so I probably knew him."

"No no, it's ok, thanks anyway Cloud," said Aeris with a happier tone in her voice and with a smile.

She then turned to John, who seemed to have closed his eyes and gone silent.

"Hello? Hello, John? Are you still with us?" sad Aeris in a playful tone as she poked him.

"Wha?" stammered John as he opened his eyes to see Aeris laughing, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just closed my eyes; that's all."

"Ah, I see then. If you didn't try to ditch me and leave me back home, then you would have gotten a good night's sleep an wouldn0t be tired now, would you?" she said in a sly look.

"I guess so," said John with a tired, but happy smile before he remembered something.

"Hey Aeris, remember that thing you showed me the last time we were here?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean my materia?"

"Yeah, that's it. Show it to Cloud, maybe he'll know what it's for. He was in SOLDIER, so he's been around materia more than me."

"That's a good idea John!" she exclaimed as she put her head down to reach inside her ribbon without untying it, "Just a sec Cloud!"

While she had her head down, Cloud locked eyes with John, understanding why he wanted him to look at the materia

_This might explain why the Shinra are after her…_

"Here, do you know what it is?" asked Aeris, holding out a small whitish orb to Cloud.

Cloud picked it up and looked at it carefully. He searched his mind for all he knew about materia, but nothing seemed to explain what was in his hand.

_What is this? Is this thing real? Where did it come from? Why does she have it?_

The questions continued mounting in Cloud's head as he handed it back with a disappointed look on his face.

"Sorry Aeris, I've never seen a materia like this."

"It's ok Cloud, don't worry. I'm sure I'll find out what it's for eventually," said Aeris with her usual cheerful tone as she put the materia back in her ribbon.

_Yeah, you'll find out. And by that time it'll be too late…_thought John as he tried not to show his momentary sadness.

As soon as Aeris had gotten her head back up, the three of them heard the gate opening and looked over to see who was coming out of it. It was a chocobo cart, which wasn't anything unusual, but seeing who was in its back was. As it turned to heads into Wall Market, they saw Tifa, dressed in rather deliberately provocative attire. They didn't have time to say or do anything except see her shocked, but relieved face to see them safe as the cart hurried into Wall Market.

"What the?" started John.

"Tifa?" said a bewildered Cloud, not believing his eyes.

"What's wrong with Tifa? She looked rather strange…" said Aeris before she ran ahead of them.

"Come on, we have to hurry. Tifa might be in danger," she said before dashing to Wall Market, leaving Cloud and John standing at the playground.

"W-wait. Damn!" said Cloud, frustrated, "Let's go John; we can't let her be alone for long in a place like this. If Tifa's not safe, then I doubt that she will be."

John nodded in agreement as they set off for Wall Market at a fast pace.

"Cloud, did you have any idea what that materia was?"

"No, I've really never seen or heard anything about a materia like that. But it might be linked to why Shinra is after her."

They were silent for the rest of their short trip to Wall Market.

* * *

The chocobo cart pulled into Don Corneo's mansion and Tifa stepped out. She thanked the man who had driven her before he left and then looked around her. It looked as if the entire mansion had been airlifted from Wutai and transported to Midgar. There was red and yellow all around the room. Tifa decided that she did not have time to look around the room and walked up to the receptionist. 

"Hello miss, are you here for the Don?"

"Yes."

"May I have your name?"

"Tifa Lockheart"

"All right then, he'll be ready to start shortly. To tell you the truth, you might be lucky since there's nobody else as they're afraid of losing. The Don's men have been getting more and more…violent with what they get."

"Oh really?" asked Tifa with a nervous tone in her voice.

"Yes, sadly that's the truth. But don't be worried, you are a very beautiful and attractive young woman; I doubt that you will lose no matter who your competition might be."

"Oh, thank you," said Tifa, blushing a bit.

"You can look around the house until the time comes, I'll tell you when the Don is ready."

"Oh all right, thank you," said Tifa with a smile before starting to go up the stairs.

_Cloud and John are safe, that's a relief. It looks like Aeris helped them in some way. That's two of my friends that she's helped in the past week, I have to thank her. They were probably going back to Sector Seven, but what will they do now?_

She ended up taking the leftmost door on the second floor which led her down a long set of stairs until she reached a dungeon.

_Why am I not surprised that he's into stuff like this? Or maybe it's his lackeys which enjoy this._

She smiled at some of the applications and how it would look if they backfired before her mind drifted back to her friends.

_I guess this might make Cloud stay longer, especially if he saw me coming to a place like this. I don't want to make him worry, but I can't let him go. If he leaves, who knows if I'll ever see him again?_

* * *

Cloud and John entered Wall Market to see Aeris running towards them after having talked to several people. 

"All right guys, I found out that Tifa's at Don Corneos's mansion, apparently he's the big shot in this town, so we should go there if we want to find her."

"Wait a sec," said Cloud, "you think that we can just waltz in into a place that's probably swarming with guards?"

"I guess we have to find out then, don't we?" said Aeris with a mischievous smile, "Let's go, Tifa might be in trouble."

Cloud did not know what to say now. She was right, but if they got captured when they got close to the place, they wouldn't be of much help to Tifa.

Thankfully, John decided to speak in his place, "Let's at least check out the weapon shop first to make sure that we're as ready as possible for this should the worst happen."

"Hmm, you're right. I think it's further ahead," said Aeris as the group began walking ahead. Eventually, they saw a structure that appeared to have been made out of random parts excavated from wreckages that said 'MACHINE GUN' on the top.

"I guess this is it," said Aeris as the group entered. After looking around, they ended up buying two Mythril Rods for John and Aeris, a Metal Knuckle for Tifa when they found her and four Mythril Armlets. The final price was 2460 Gil, which John paid with two blue bills and a green one and received two 20 Gil coins as change. They ended up selling their Guard Staffs, Iron and Bronze Bangles (John chose to save the Titan Bangle) as a joint deal for a 500 Gil bill. Afterwards, they equipped the Mythril Armlets and transferred their materia before heading to Don Corneo's mansion, which was within visible view by now. When they got close, they saw a tall and muscular guard in front of the door to the mansion.

"This is the Don's mansion. He ain't interested in men, so you two get out of here. Ah, but he might like your cute friend there."

The group took a few steps back before starting to talk about their next move.

"Hmm, I guess I have to go in. I'll tell Tifa that you two are ok," said Aeris, getting ready to go.

"Wait a sec!" said Cloud immediately, "You can't go in there alone, you do know what happens to women who go into places like this right?"

"Of course I do, but what else are we supposed to do?"

"John and I can't get in since we're men, but then…ugh, what can we do?" asked Cloud, frustrated by the situation.

"I know!" exclaimed Aeris in her giddy tone, "why don't you two dress up like girls? You'll get in then!"

The results of that suggestion were very weird looks from Cloud and John.

_Oh no, there's no way I'm doing that!,_ thought John before coming up with an alternative plan.

"Actually, I have a better idea, one that doesn't involve anyone dressing up like a hooker. Aeris, why don't you just distract the guy and we'll knock him out?"

"Distract him how?"

"Umm, you're a woman so…"

"Oh, like THAT…" she said, rolling her eyes.

"You seemed fine going in there by yourself just a few seconds ago, so this should be easy right? Besides, we'll be right here if he tries to hurt you," reassured John.

"I never said I wouldn't do this, now stand back and wait until his back is open," said Aeris before she walked up to the guard.

"This should be interesting," whispered John to Cloud who had to keep from letting out a laugh at this.

Aeris put on a worried and uncertain look as the guard looked at her.

"Do you want to go in? I'm sure the Don will be glad to see a girl like you."

"Oh, a girl like me? I'm flattered, but…"

"But what?"

"I don't think the Don will like me, I'm not attractive enough," she said looking as if she would cry.

"What? Nonsense! You're very pretty!"

"Pretty's fine and all, but I know that the Don likes sexy women and…I'm not."

"What?"

"I don't feel like the Don would like me, I don't feel 'sexy,'" said Aeris in an even sadder tone than before.

"That's not true, you are very sexy and have no reason to doubt that," said the guard, trying to reassure her.

_Damn, what is wrong with this chick?!_

"Oh, then umm…can you help me then?" asked Aeris with an innocent, yet mischievous look in her eyes.

"Help you? How?"

"Please!" she exclaimed as she threw herself at him and threw her arms around him as far as she could, "make me feel sexy!"

The guard was confused as hell, but he did what instinct told him to and put his hands on her hips.

"L-like this?"

"Yes, yes, that's perfect! Now come this way," she said in a seductive tone as she started to walk backwards and then sideways, still hugging the guard, who was getting a bit braver now, moving his hand lower to grab her ass.

_Where the hell are you guys? I'm about to get molested here!_

Cloud and John were having a hard time keeping themselves from bursting out in laughter. She had done it; they had to give it to her. The guard was now perfectly vulnerable. John decided to get this over with and holding his new Mythril Staff, he walked up silently behind the guard and brought it down on him, hitting the back of his head and knocking um unconscious. The guard fell forward, nearly crushing Aeris.

"Ugh! Get him off me!"

John couldn't hold back his laugher and neither could Cloud as they rolled the heavy guard off of him.

"Eww, I think he drooled in my hair!" exclaimed Aeris, "Is that supposed to be funny?!"

John and Cloud's laugher proved to be her answer as her knuckles whitened.

"Ugh! Forget it! I don't know if you two have forgotten, but we're here to make sure that Tifa's all right!"

And with that, Aeris headed inside with Cloud and John following behind, trying to hold back their laughter again.

* * *

Once they were inside, Cloud went up to the receptionist to ask a question. 

"Excuse me, but did a Miss Tifa Lockheart come in here?"

"Yes, are you here to wish her good luck?"

"Umm…yeah, something like that…" said John as he looked around.

_Damn, this guy sure knows how to live the expensive life!_

"She went upstairs a short while ago."

"Thanks," said Aeris before running up the stairs, "Come on guys, we've gotta hurry!"

Cloud and John followed Aeris, which seemed to have become a common happening today and entered the only open door upstairs, which led to a long set of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, they found a surprised Tifa in the dungeon, still wearing the same outfit that they had seen her in at the playground.

"Cloud! John! Aeris! You're ok!"

"Yeah, we're fine Tifa," said Cloud.

"Aeris, thanks! Thanks a lot! This is the second time you've helped us out in a short amount of time."

"Don't mention it Tifa," said Aeris with a smile.

"How did you get in here?" asked Tifa.

"Oh that," said Aeris with an annoyed, yet humorous tone in her voice, "They had the guard nearly rape me and-"

"What?!" exclaimed Tifa, looking at Cloud and John.

"Hey, you didn't have to go ahead with the plan," said John.

"It doesn't matter anyway," said Aeris with one of her innocent laughs, "we're in, aren't we? And Tifa's safe, so everything's fine."

"That reminds me. Tifa, why are you here anyway?" asked Cloud.

"Oh yeah, umm…" said Tifa while looking at Aeris with an embarrassed look on her voice.

"Don't say another word, I'll plug my ears," said Aeris as she went to a corner to do so.

"Well, you see, after we got back from the Sector Five Reactor, there was this strange man which had been asking questions. So Barret grabbed him and pumped some answers out of him, and that's where the Don's name came up. Apparently, the guy we caught had bee n sending him information about us and the location of our hideout, so we had to find out what the Don is going to do with this information. And the thing is that he gets three girls every night and he picks one to be his "bride" and well, I have to be the girl for tonight, or I'm out."

While Cloud and John were digesting that information, Aeris had come up behind Tifa and decided to reassure her.

"Um sorry, but I overheard. I didn't see anyone else out there and with the guard being umm…unconscious; I don't think any other girls will come tonight, so you're home free. And once you're in there, we'll come and help you out after you get the info."

"What?! No Aeris, I can't let you get involved in this," said Cloud.

"I think I'm already involved. Remember? I threw myself at the guard while you guys knocked him out so we could get in? If they ever see me in the slums, they'll probably know who I am judging by how close I got to that guy."

Cloud tried to think up of something else to say when a voice came from the door at the top of the stairs.

"Miss Lockheart? The Don's ready, there's no one else here, so I'll show you straight to his bedroom alright?"

"O-ok…" said Tifa as she walked up the stairs, "Um, can my friends stay here for a while?"

"Oh, they want to try out the equipment, do they? Usually, I wouldn't allow this, but I'll let it slide this once. Just return everything back to where you find it when you're done will you?"

The three people at the bottom simply started in confusion until Aeris gave the receptionist thumbs up.

"All right then, let's go Miss Lockheart."

Tifa looked back for a second at her friends, trying to reassure them that she'd be ok and then followed the receptionist.


	9. Chapter IX

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Like always, thank you to all the people who have read the story up to this point and a special thanks to all those who reviewed.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter IX

Cloud and John sat on the floor in the dungeon while Aeris was looking in the random boxes which were scattered around the room.

"Aeris, do you actually know what these things are used for?" asked John, wanting to test the flower girl's mental innocence.

"Yeah, of course I do," said Aeris, whose head had joined her arms to look in one of the larger boxes, "let's see; leather bra, whip, harness…"

As Aeris continued to list her discovered items, Cloud retreated into his thoughts.

_This is ridiculous, Tifa could be getting molested by Corneo and we're just sitting here!_

He looked over to John, who was staring upwards at the ceiling and trying very hard not to listen to Aeris. Soon enough however, he had to ask her a question.

"Aeris, how do you exactly know what this stuff is and what it's used for?"

"When you grow up in the slums and have to learn to make recent trips to Wall Market for food, you see these things being sold outside," said Aeris rather casually, "at times, they explained what you could do with them to gain sales, so that's how I know."

"Oh, ok…" said John as he lowered his eyes slowly to the floor.

By this point, Cloud decided that enough was enough. Tifa would have had plenty of time by now to get whatever information from Corneo by now and might need their help.

"Ok, I think that's enough exploring for now Aeris, Tifa probably needs our help."

Aeris immediately understood and walked over to the stairs.

"You're right, sorry Cloud…Let's go and get Tifa," she said with a smile. She walked up first with Cloud and John following behind, but just as she was about to reach the top she saw a figure appear.

"Well now, where's a chick like you thinking of going?" questioned the man, who seemed to be one of Corneo's lackeys. He lunged at Aeris, but she managed to trip him and send him rolling down the stairs past Cloud and John, who got out of his way.

"Come on," said Cloud as he ran out of the dungeon and headed towards the main room, closely followed by Aeris and John. Once the door was opened, they saw about ten of Corneo's goons in there, surprised by the sudden intrusion.

"All right guys," said John as he gripped his staff, "let's hurry up, Tifa's waiting."

* * *

Tifa sat on the edge of a giant bed and across from her was Don Corneo, whose eyes were filled with absolute lust. 

"All right pussycat, come to daddy!"

"Umm…" mumbled Tifa, trying to wriggle her way out of the situation.

_Oh damn, Cloud where are you?_

"What's the matter? Are you afraid? That's ok; I'll be gentle…at first!"

Don Corneo tried to jump on top of Tifa, but she quickly jumped backwards on the bed and he hit the mattress.

"Aw come on now, don't play hard to get!" said the Don, his temper rising as he started to crawl towards her. Tifa was about to punch him when they heard the sound of people yelling behind them.

"What the-" started Corneo before the door opened and Cloud, John and Aeris came running in.

"That was easy," said John triumphantly before looking at Corneo, "now then, about this guy…"

"Thanks guys," said Tifa before she momentarily walked into a corner of the room to take off her uncomfortable outfit and put her tank top on correctly.

"Hey!" snapped Cloud at the Don, who was trying to get a peek at Tifa who had her back turned to them. Aeris decided to help out and went to stand in front of Tifa to protect her from the Don's eyes.

"Thanks Aeris," said Tifa as she finished adjusting her tank top and threw the blue outfit on the floor.

"No problem," replied Aeris as the four of them gathered around the Don's bed. Don Corneo himself was sweating beyond belief by now.

"Wh-what are you going to do with me? Who are you" he asked in a rather quiet voice.

"Shut up!" yelled Tifa imedeately, "we're asking the questions now. Why did you send out that spy on AVALANCHE?"

Corneo whimpered pathetically until Cloud brought his sword closer to his face.

"All right! All right!! I was ordered to find out where the man with the gun-arm was!"

"By who?" asked John, before her brought his staff closer to Corneo, "ANSWER!!!"

"B-by Heidegger of Shinra, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!"

"Did you say Shinra?" gasped Tifa, "What are they up to? Talk now, or else…"

Tifa brought her arm back, ready to make a killing blow to Corneo's face as he stumbled back on his bed, the tears starting to leak from his fearful eyes.

"P-please don't hurt me, I'll tell you everything!!! They want to crush that AVALANCHE group, and I literally mean crush them. They found out that their hideout's in the Sector Seven Slums, so they're going to destroy the support that holds up the city in Sector Seven and once that happens…"

"They're going to destroy the support?!" gasped Aeris in shock.

"That's right, and then the city will fall on the slums, wiping them out. I'm glad that that's not happening here in Sector Six or I'd be worried."

"Wipe out the Sector Seven Slums? Oh no, I've got to get back," said Tifa in an extremely worried tone, "Cloud, John, will you come with me to Sector Seven?"

"Of course Tifa," said Cloud, "let's go."

The team started to turn around to head out, but Corneo was not done yet.

"J-just a second."

They turned around yet again and gave him hard looks as he asked his question.

"How do you think that scum like me feels when they tell the truth?"

_Oh no, not this part…,_ thought John. He wanted to avoid it, but before he could think up a way of doing so, Cloud answered the question.

"Because they think that they will win?"

"Whoo-hoo! Exactly!" exclaimed Corneo as he pulled a switch on the side of the bed which opened the floor beneath the team and sent them down.

_Damn it! _thought John before he felt his body hit something hard and wet and he passed out.

* * *

Barret was standing in the middle of the bar wondering how Tifa was doing, as well as what had happened to John and Cloud. 

_Tifa…I hope Corneo hasn't done anything to you, cause if he has…then me and my gun-arm are going to make sure that he pays for everything. I know I didn't show it, but I'm worried about John and Cloud as well. They should have been here by now. What if the worst happened? What if Cloud's dead and John wasn't able to avoid Shinra? No no, I can't think like that, Tifa told me to stay positive. I gotta keep a good face on, especially for Marlene._

He took a moment to glance over at his adopted daughter who was sitting at one of the tables and looking at the wall before getting back on his train of thought.

_Marlene…I swear that I'll destroy the Shinra! For you and for the planet. I'll make sure that you'll never see something like what they did to Corel. Dyne, Eleanor…I'll make sure that your daughter grows up to see a world without Shinra!_

Barret was getting ready to go outside for a walk when Biggs came running in with a look of horror on his face.

"What's wrong Biggs?"

"It's Shinra, they're here. They're at the pillar and they're firing from the air, I think they found out where our hideout was.

_Corneo…damn him!_

"Biggs, go find Jessie and Wedge, I'll go ahead and try to hold them off."

"You sure about this Barret? There are a lot of them out there."

"Don't worry; I've got my gun-arm to back me up, courtesy of Shinra themselves."

Barret then turned to Marlene who was looking scared.

"Marlene, don't leave this place, got it? It's very dangerous out there!"

Marlene slowly nodded in fear and Barret headed out. When he arrived at the pillar, he was shocked at what he saw. Biggs hadn't been kidding, there were several helicopters above the slums and Barret could see Shinra soldiers with machine guns. He saw that it would be nearly impossible to scale the pillar soon without getting attacked by the forces which they were going to likely release, so he ran towards the stairs. Some of the Shinra soldiers tried to shoot him, but to no success. Once he reached the top, Barret started shooting at the helicopters and dodging bullets. In less than a minute after Barret had reached the top of the pillar, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie arrived at the bottom, to see that Propeller enemies were starting to gather on the stairs.

"Dammit, we've gotta hurry everyone!" shouted Biggs as they started to run up the stairs with Wedge leading the way.

* * *

John awoke to find half his head in something cold and wet. 

_What the- Oh no!_

He quickly jumped up and shook his head, trying to get the feeling of sewage off of him. He then looked around and saw the others lying in the same sewage that he was in. Cloud was the closest, so John bent down and shook him.

"Cloud, wake up."

Cloud opened his eyes and followed the same pattern that John had done a few seconds ago by jumping up in disgust. Afterwards, Cloud woke up Tifa, while John went over to Aeris and got her to wake up. Both women wanted to throw up when they looked around themselves.

"Where are we?" asked Tifa as she squeezed her hair to try to make it dry.

"I think we're in the sewers underneath Corneo's mansion," answered Aeris, who was doing the same thing with her pigtail.

"This wasn't the way I was hoping this would turn out," said Tifa in a disappointed tone, "We've got to hurry, and Sector Seven might already be in danger. Let's set our materia properly though, there's probably monsters here in the sewers."

"Oh, that reminds me," said John as he took out the Metal Knuckle and Mythril Armlet that he had bought in Wall Market and gave them to Tifa, "I saw these at the weapon shop in Wall Market and thought that you could use them."

"Oh, thanks John!" exclaimed Tifa with a smile as she replaced her old Leather Glove and Iron Bangle. Afterwards, they slightly rearranged their materia. Aeris placed the Restore and All materias in her staff and a Fire materia in her armlet. John put the other Fire materia in his armlet and put the remaining Restore materia and an Ice materia in his staff. Tifa put Ice and Lightning materias in her Metal Knuckle and Cloud took the remaining Lightning materia, which he put in his Buster Sword. They seemed to have equipped their materia at the proper time as well, as they heard a low and menacing growl the second they seemed to finish.

"What was that?" said Tifa cautiously.

"I think it's one of Corneo's pets," said John as he looked around to try to locate the source of the sound.

_Dammit Aps, where are you?_

"What's that?!" gasped Aeris loudly as she saw a figure in the near distance. She walked forward to try to get a closer look at it, when John shouted behind her.

"Aeris, watch out!"

But it was too late as a large green creature with broken chains on its arms leapt out of the darkness and grabbed Aeris, rapidly pinning her against the wall and causing her to drop her staff.

"Aeris!!!" yelled Tifa in fear as she saw her friend having the breath pushed out of her as Aps pressed her harder against the wall. John was quick to act before it was too late as he quickly launched a fireball at Aps who was too preoccupied with wanting to devour Aeris to guard himself from the side. Aps yelled in pain as the fireball mad a painful hit and dropped Aeris, turning his attention to the other three intruders. John slowly walked back until he felt bars behind him as Aps started to rush at him. Thankfully, Tifa jumped in and dealt a kick to its other side, causing him to stop his running. Cloud then took this opportunity and slashed at Aps's right arm, causing some blood to flow out. Aps roared in pain once more and used the same arm to send Cloud flying backwards in to the sewage behind Aeris, who was just using her arms to lift herself up, he body still burning with pain.

_Ugh, damn you…_

She saw Aps cornering John and Tifa and looked around for her staff to heal herself and Cloud using the Restore materia, but was unable to locate it.

_It must have fallen into the sewage; I have to think of something else…_

She then remembered the Fire materia in her armlet and decided to put it to good use. She concentrated her thoughts and sent several fireballs at Aps, hitting him in the back and tearing his attention away from John and Tifa. Aps was then set to attack Aeris once more, but John hit him as hard as he could in the back with his Mythril Staff. Aps turned around once again and quickly tackled John, making him hit the bars behind him and slump down into the sewage. He then noticed Tifa trying to land a kick on him and grabbed her by her leg. Tifa screamed as Aps jumped up and threw her down, the force of the impact knocking her out cold. John tried to get to her, but Aps hit him again and sent him back to the bars. As Aps towered over Tifa, Cloud had managed to get himself up and watched in horror as he was too injured from the fall to run quickly enough.

_No, Tifa!_

Aeris had seen her friend about to get eaten as well and was frantically searching in the sewage with her bare hands for her staff.

_Come on, where is it?!_

Suddenly, she felt her hands touch metal and sighed in relief.

_There it is, hold on Tifa!_

Aeris quickly used her materias in the staff to cast cure on her and Cloud in one go. With his body re-energized, Cloud ran at Aps and dug his sword into his back, causing it to scream out in agony. Cloud pulled his sword out and started to move backwards, leading Aps slowly away from Tifa and John, who was slowly moving toward her. John got close to Tifa and got out one of the phoenix downs in his pocket.

_Okay then, let's see how good this will work._

He brought her head out of the sewage and put it on his lap as he took the top off the vial. He then tilted her head upwards and poured the orange liquid down her throat. He waited for a few seconds before her eyes opened.

"Tifa, you okay?" he asked in a voice which was weak from his boy being thrown against the bars.

"Yeah, thanks John," she said as she slowly got up and looked down at him, "are you okay?"

"Just a sec," said John before he took his staff and cast a cure spell on himself.

"There, I'm better now," he said as he got up and looked over to where Cloud and Aeris were. He saw that Aps was limping as he approached them, blood slowly pouring out from the wound which Cloud had given him. He looked over at Tifa, who understood immediately what to do. Using the Lightning materia in her glove, she launched a bolt which hit Aps directly in the wound, causing him to freeze in paralysis. This gave Cloud the change to run and make a direct stab at his stomach which he took. Once he withdrew his sword, the entire team moved to where Cloud and Aeris were as they watched Aps thrash around and scream as it slowly died. They did not dare to move until they were absolutely sure that Aps was dead for good.

"We should hurry," said Cloud after a period of silence as he walked over Aps's corpse.

The other's slowly followed and cautiously took the same path that Cloud had over the remains of Aps. Afterwards they carefully went up a small ladder and went around the sewer, finding a yellow Steal materia along the way which Tifa put in her Mythril Armlet. They walked around silently afterwards, not wanting to cause noise which would attract monsters. Soon enough, they found stairs leading out of the sewers to their relief.

"Whew, finally!" whispered Aeris as she started climbing first, the others following behind.

* * *

Back at the pillar, things were not looking good for AVALANCHE. Barret had miraculously managed to avoid getting shot countless times as the Shinra soldiers continued firing from their helicopters and Barret kept firing back. On a few lucky shots, Barret had managed to hit some of the soldiers, but nothing much had come out of it. 

_Dammit!!! Cloud, Tifa, John…where are you guys? We're getting murdered here!!!_

On the stairs, the situation was even worse for the other three, who were not escaping unscathed. Wedge was still on his feet, but the bullets were raining down at a rapid pace, threatening to knock him off the edge as he fought against Propeller units that were giving him increasing wounds across his body. Biggs had been kicked down several sets of stairs and lay with several broken ribs as they slowly punctured his lungs and his mouth began to fill with his own blood.

_Cloud…where are you?_

Jessie was in a similar situation as a Propeller unit had caught her off guard and had stabbed her in the stomach, leaving her to a slow and painful death.

_Damn…can't believe that this it. After everything…have we lost?_

On one of the helicopters which were safely out of Barret's range, Reno stood as he watched the members of AVALANCHE fall one by one.

_This is easier than I imagined. Why do we have to destroy the entire slums anyway? Oh well, an order is an order I guess, I just hope the president knows what he's doing…_

* * *

"Finally!" exclaimed John as he climbed out of the sewer. But as he looked around, the sight which greeted him was not a pleasant one either. He had seen the train graveyard from the other side when he had first arrived before he had headed to Seventh Heaven, but from this side it looked much bigger and much more menacing. He thought that he could make out the Sector Seven train station lampposts in the distance, but he wasn't sure. What he was sure about the things he saw, was the pillar on the left in the distance, he saw that there were helicopters around it, as did the others. 

"Oh no, they've already started!" gasped Tifa, "We've got to go right now!"

Cloud agreed, but found himself looking at Aeris with a rather sad look on his face.

"Aeris…I'm so sorry for getting you involved in all of this."

"Don't tell me to go home Cloud, and you too John. I've come this far and I'm glad to help you guys fight off the Shinra," said Aeris in a decently serious tone.

Cloud didn't know what else to say to Aeris, so he said the only thing he could.

"Let's go."

Unfortunately, the group didn't get more than a few steps when they saw two Deenglows and a Ghost coming their way. One of the Deenglows made the mistake of flying ahead of the others to attack the team, but was hit hard by John's staff instead. While he was dazed, Aeris hit him with her staff and sent him down to the ground. Before it had a chance to get back up, Cloud brought his sword down and sliced him in two. At the same time, Tifa had rushed ahead before the other two members of the enemy's party arrived and had broken the second Deenglow's neck with a hard and swift kick. She then turned to attack the Ghost, but saw nobody there. She slowly started to walk backwards when she felt an invisible force push her down from the side. She managed to quickly use her hands to stop her head from making impact and got back on her feet.

"Tifa, stay in one place, I've got a plan," shouted Aeris.

Tifa did as she was told and did nothing but look around, trying to see any sign of her enemy. Aeris in the meantime was looking at the ground around Tifa. Within a few seconds, she saw a shadow slowly moving behind Tifa. She wasted not time in launching a fireball at what was causing the shadow. Tifa managed to turn around just in time to see the Ghost burn into oblivion from Aeris's magic attack.

"Thanks," said Tifa as Aeris and the others reached her.

"Don't mention it," replied Aeris with one of her sweet smiles as the group continued. They walked through several trains afterwards until they reached one that led to a dead end. They then headed back towards the train and looked at the controls inside.

"Hmm, maybe if we do this…" thought John out loud as he pulled one of the levers. The train suddenly started to move forwards and hit another train as the group fell down. Sparks started to fly from the friction as the other train was slowly pushed out of the way. The team slowly got out afterwards and looked around, seeing the train station within walking distance. The group started to walk forwards when a laser shot out of nowhere and hit Cloud's arm.

"Agh," yelled Cloud as he clutched his arm which started to bleed from the cut.

John quickly cast cure on Cloud's arm, causing the cut to heal as they saw the cause of the laser: two Eligors were rushing rapidly towards them from the side. Tifa acted quickly and sent an ice spell at the left one, but it was destroyed by a laser attack before it reached its target.

"We have to get in close," said Tifa, realizing that long range magic attacks weren't going to do the trick here.

Just then, the right Eligor speeded up and rushed at the group, which quickly scrambled to avoid being run over. John then ran back and hit one of the Eligors in the back with his staff. The other one was about to get ready to ram into John when he was stabbed from the side by Cloud's sword. The wounded one then quickly moved backwards and got out a Striking Staff which John eyed immediately.

_Hmm…forgot that they carry those, they could be useful._

As he was thinking this, the other Eligor had gotten out a striking staff as well and was trying to attack Cloud, who was blocking its every blow. Aeris then ran behind it and hit it in the back with her staff several times before it turned around and struck her, sending her falling back. Before it got to make another move however, Tifa jump kicked it and used her Steal materia to expertly grab the Striking staff from it and throw it to the floor. With the Eligor dazed even further, Cloud gripped his sword and swung it upwards, severing the Eligor's head from its body. This act made the other one angry as it charged with its Striking Staff pointed outwards as it used its other hand to clutch its wound. The Eligor tried to shoot a laser at well, but Cloud launched a bolt spell at it, which deflected the laser back at the Eligor, hitting its head and damaging its vision. As it wandered around aimlessly, John cast a fire spell on it, which burnt it until there was no more life in the Eligor and the Striking Staff fell out of its hand. John then went up to it and picked up the staff before picking up the one Tifa had grabbed from the other Eligor as well.

"Aeris, catch," he said as he tossed her one of the staffs which she managed to catch.

"Thanks," she said with a smile as she looked at her new weapon.

John and Aeris quickly transferred their materia to their new Striking Staffs and discarded the Mythril ones.

"Okay, we're almost there!" said Tifa as they started to run towards the pillar, which had more helicopters around it than before.


	10. Chapter X

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and special thanks go out to the reviewers.

Sorry for the delay, I was expecting to have this done a week ago, but I had to stop halfway through and wait due to schoolwork. Enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter X

The group arrived at the bottom of the pillar and looked upwards just in time to see Wedge being thrown off by one of the propeller units after he had been hit in the back by several bullets. There was nothing they could do as they watched his nearly lifeless form fall and heard his shoulder and several of his ribs break as he hit the ground.

"Wedge!" exclaimed Cloud in an unusual shocked tone for him.

"Cloud…you remembered my name…" said Wedge slowly as blood began to flow out of his mouth.

He then used his remaining energy to move his head so that he could look at the pillar.

"Go…help Barret you guys, he needs you…"

With that, the group watched in sadness as Wedge closed his eyes for the final time. Then they looked upwards to see Barret firing billets at the Shinra helicopters and not having much luck. Tifa was silent for a few moments before she began warning the people of the danger.

"Everyone, get out of Sector Seven right now! It's extremely dangerous!!" she shouted before remembering Marlene in the bar. She quickly came up with a possible solution and turned to Aeris.

"Aeris, I have a bar here called Seventh Heaven, there's a girl called Marlene there…"

"Say no more Tifa," continued Aeris for her, "I'll get her somewhere safe. You guys should hurry to the top."

_That will lead to her getting caught, but there's no other choice I guess…_thought John as Aeris started to go in the direction of Seventh Heaven.

"Aeris!" he called, causing her to stop for a second as she looked at him.

"Stay safe," he warned.

"You too," she said with a determined look in her eyes before continuing down the path to the bar.

"Let's go," said Cloud as he and Tifa approached the bottom of the stairs leading to the top.

John watched Aeris's disappearing form for a few seconds before running up to join Cloud and Tifa as they began to scale the pillar. They only got up a few steps when Tifa saw a Propeller unit coming at them from the side. She was quick to act and delivered a jump kick before it was able to attack, sending it flying backwards momentarily before it started to fly back. Tifa acted once again and launched a bolt at the Propeller unit, blasting off its propellers and sending it down to its doom. Just then they saw three more, but Cloud had enough time to follow Tifa's example and fire two bolt spells, cutting down the number of enemies down to one. As for the last propeller unit, John launched an ice spell which knocked off the propeller on its top and sent it flying down at bizarre angles. They continued their way up and it wasn't long until they saw Biggs, who had blood flowing out of his mouth as he tried to talk.

"Heh…so you guys came…"

"Biggs…" Tifa spoke softly as a few tears started to fall.

"Don't cry Tifa…you gotta save your strength and win this thing for everyone…"

Biggs then used whatever energy he had to look at Cloud.

"So tell me Cloud…do you really not care about the planet?"

Cloud looked away as he delivered his answer after a pause.

"…no."

"Heh, figures…" said Biggs before death finally took him.

The group was silent for a few seconds before starting to move once again. A few more Propeller units came their way, but most of them were cut down by Cloud's sword before they had a chance to land and the remaining few that survived were easily taken out by John and Tifa. After climbing some more sets, they could the dying for of yet another comrade, Jessie. She had a massive wound in her stomach and her waist was no longer very visible due to all the blood that had spilled out. She turned her head slowly as they approached her, trying her best to smile.

"You came…I knew you would. I was glad that I could see you guys for one last time…"

"Jessie…" John said softly as he looked down at the friend who had been helping them just the day before.

"John…I'm sorry again for making you do my work…"

John knelt down and just looked at her with an extremely sad expression on his face until he finally spoke.

"Don't worry about it Jessie," he said with a weak smile.

Jessie smiled back for a few seconds before she went to join her fallen friends in the lifestream. John slowly got up and looked upwards, seeing that they weren't very far from the summit.

"Let's go," he said looking at Cloud and Tifa, who nodded back with determination. They wasted no time afterwards in dashing to the top to join Barret, disposing of the enemies along the way.

* * *

Aeris ran through the Sector Seven slums until she saw a building which said: SEVENTH HEAVEN. 

_This must be it; I better hurry in case the pillar falls._

She quickly ran up the stairs and into the bar. As she looked around inside, she saw nobody.

"Hello? Anyone here?" she called out, not receiving an answer in return.

She then stood silently until she heard what sounded like sobs. She went over to one of the tables and looked under it, finding a small girl who was trying her hardest not to cry.

"Hi there," Aeris said with a smile, "are you Marlene?"

The child slowly nodded as she wiped away her tears.

_She looks really scared, don't blame her though…_

Aeris momentarily recalled her own horrific experiences as a child in Shinra's captivity with her mother before turning her attention to Marlene once again.

"I'm Aeris; I'm a friend of Tifa's. She sent me here to take you to a safe place, okay?"

"…what about my daddy?"

"Daddy?"

"His name is Barret, is he okay?"

_Barret…that's the guy who the others are supposed to be helping…_

"Yeah, he's fine;" Aeris said reassuringly, "Cloud, Tifa and John are going to help him right now, so he's safe. Now, about you…"

Marlene got out of the table and smiled at Aeris who smiled back.

"What do you do Ms. Aeris?" asked Marlene

"Just call me Aeris, Marlene. I'm a flower girl."

"A flower girl? Wow, where do you get the flowers from?"

"I grow them myself," replied Aeris with a smile as she looked out of the window to make sure that there were no Shinra troops.

"Wow, here?" asked Marlene with a childish smile on her face.

"Yup! The coast looks clear, we have to hurry Marlene," said Aeris as she picked Marlene up with her staff and ran outside.

Aeris ran in the direction of the pillar as fast as she could with Marlene's extra weight. Once she got there, she decided to take a moment and look at how the others were doing. Looking up, she saw that her friends were getting very close to the top.

_Looks like they're doing fine…I better hurry! Where should I take her to? I guess the only place I can is back home, mom will get along with her for a while, she likes kids._

With that thought, Aeris turned and ran through the open gate into Sector Six. Unknown to her, a helicopter had taken sight of her and started to follow in pursuit. Inside was a dark haired man in a suit.

_Aeris…_

* * *

Cloud rushed up the last set of stairs and saw Barret firing at the helicopters and dodging bullets. 

"Barret!" cried Tifa as she ran towards him.

"Tifa! Cloud! John! You came! We're in trouble here! They're trying to take us down!"

"I know," said Tifa, "We found out that they want to destroy the pillar to make the city fall on the slums to kill us."

"WHAT?!" yelled Barret in shock, "We can't let them do that!"

Barret had just finished talking when John noticed that one of the helicopters was coming dangerously close to them now that Barret had stopped firing.

"Look out, they're coming from above!" shouted John as a red headed man holding a metallic rod jumped from the helicopters and landed close to the controls of the pillar.

"Once I push this button…" he began as his hand started going closer to the control panel.

_Oh no! He's going to activate the self-destruct mechanism! I have to stop him! _thought John as he ran forward to intercept Reno.

Reno was just about to press the button and complete his mission when he saw John coming at him with the Striking Staff pointed outwards. Reno managed to get away just in time with a back flip as John's staff appeared where Reno's hand had been less than a second ago.

"I won't let you destroy the slums!" announced John as Reno looked at him.

"Heh, I'm sorry but a job is a job, now get out of the way!" ordered Reno, but John stood his ground as the others came to join him.

"You're not coming any closer," said Cloud as he got his sword ready to do battle.

John rushed ahead and tried to hit Reno with his staff, but missed as Reno jumped over him and dealt a strong kick to his back, causing him to fall on the floor. John managed to turn over just in time to see Reno bringing down his rod close to John's face. John was quick to act and brought his staff in front of him, blocking the blow. Reno held his weapon there and continued to push down.

"You won't be able to shield yourself for much longer," taunted Reno as drops of sweat started to appear on John's face.

_Damn it, he's right! _

However, Reno's position left him vulnerable to a side kick from Tifa. Reno stumbled back, clutching his side in pain as Tifa helped John up. Reno then saw Cloud coming at him with his sword and jumped back even more landing rather close to the railing.

_There's too many of them, I have to cut down the number. Where's Tseng? He's supposed to be here helping me!_

As he saw Cloud running at him again, Reno smiled and pointed his weapon at his opponent. He pressed a button and a yellow light shot out of it. Cloud tried to slow down to dodge the attack, but it was too late. The beam hit Cloud and a transparent yellow pyramid appeared around him. Cloud tried to slash his way out, but found out that he was unable to move.

_What the hell?!_

Barret tried to attack next and launched a few bullets at Reno, all of which were easily avoided.

"Barret, catch!" shouted John as he removed the fire materia from his Mythril Armlet and threw it him, along with the Titan Bangle that he had in his pocketed. Barret caught them with surprising ease using one arm and placed the materia in his Assault gun and discarded his Iron Bangle for the Titan one. During that time, Tifa had run up to try to land a few blows on Reno, but most of them were blocked. Eventually, she managed to land a kick in and Reno went falling back. While Reno was getting up, John ran over to the "Pyramid" that Cloud was trapped in and ran his staff in through the side, causing the prison to shatter, releasing Cloud.

"Thanks John," said Cloud as he slowly got on his feet, glad that he could move again.

Once Reno got back up, he saw that his opponents were back in top form and ready to fight.

_Damn! Tseng, where are you?_

* * *

The sounds of Shinra's guns had momentarily frightened away the monsters in Sector Six, so all Aeris had to worry about was the path itself, or so she thought. 

"Aeris, where are we going?" asked Marlene as she was starting to feel dizzy from the rapid changes in altitude as Aeris ran over the wreckage.

"I'm taking you to my house; my mom will take care of you until your dad and the others are finished," said Aeris as reassuringly as she could as she tried to keep her eyes on the path.

"Are you sure Daddy's all right?" asked Marlene with a worried tone.

"Of course, he's got Cloud, John and Tifa with him," replied Aeris as she thought she heard a buzzing sound.

"Ok, if you say so, then I believe you," said Marlene cheerfully with a smile, "who do you like more? John or Cloud?"

Aeris was caught off guard by the sudden question and nearly tripped over her own feet as she stammered up an answer.

_This kid sure knows how to ask questions!_

"Umm…both I guess, they're uh really helpful…"

"Ooooooh," said Marlene coyly before the buzzing sound came again, this time being much louder than before.

Aeris looked behind her for a second to see what the source was and was shocked to see a Shinra helicopter flying right at them.

_No, I have to get her to mom!_

She saw that the entrance to Sector Five was right ahead and picked up her pace, beating the helicopter which was too big to fit in. Tseng got out in time to see her form running towards her house and dashed after her.

"Aeris, you're not getting away this time!" he yelled as she looked back to get a view of her soon to be capturer, partially relieved that it was him instead of one of the other Turks.

_Tseng…how many times have we done this before? _She thought to herself as her house came into view.

She ran up to the front door and rushed in, catching her mother by surprise.

"Aeris, what is it? Where were you?" asked Elmyra as Marlene was thrust into her arms.

"There's no time mom, keep her safe."

Aeris turned around just in time to see Tseng standing in the doorway.

"Aeris, you're coming with me," he announced as he stood firmly.

"And if I refuse?" asked Aeris as she took a step back.

"Then I will have to do something I wouldn't like. You might be important to Shinra, but that child is not…" he said with a nearly undetectable tone of sadness in his voice at the end.

"Tseng, you wouldn't!" said Aeris in shock.

"…it's your choice Aeris."

Aeris looked over at her frightened stepmother and the even more frightened girl in her hands. She looked over at Tseng before walking up to Marlene.

"Marlene, I have to go now, so you be a good little girl and keep my mom happy, okay?" she asked with one of her usually smiles.

"O-okay…"

"Mom, keep her safe. Her dad will come for her soon."

Elmyra could do nothing but nod as her adoptive daughter turned around and walked towards Tseng.

"Let's go, Reno will be waiting," said Tseng as he walked out and motioned at Aeris to follow.

"I can't believe that you would threaten a child," said Aeris as she walked with him.

"It wouldn't have come to this at all if you had come along with us when we first asked you," replied Tseng.

"So that I could end up like my real mother?" asked Aeris in anger as she stopped in front of his face and looked him in the eyes, "Do you think that I would even be alive today if I came back?"

"…you're needed Aeris, you're special, you're the key to the Promised Land," said Tseng as he walked around her and continued, knowing that she would come along to keep Marlene safe.

Aeris looked at the ground for a few seconds before raising her head and following Tseng who had already reached the helicopter. He took her staff and the Fire materia from her Mythril Armlet (placing it in said staff to save space) and told the Shinra soldier that it was time to go. Aeris could do nothing, but look in the direction of her house as she felt the helicopter rise.

* * *

Back on the top of the pillar, things were not looking too good for Reno. Tifa had scored a hard punch on his left shoulder, causing a large pain as he moved around, trying to dodge bullets and the occasional fireball from Barret. When the barrage ceased, Reno made a run to where John was standing and charged up his rod. John saw that he did not have enough time to move and raised his staff in defense as Reno brought the rod down, managing to block it. Reno knew that he did not have much time, so he landed a quick kick in John's unguarded stomach. As John's defense weakened as a result, Reno gave him a hard tackle with his right shoulder, knocking him down. He was about to attack again when he was hit by a bolt spell from Cloud, which his injured shoulder and burnt a part of his suit off. 

_I can't keep this up, they'll score a better blow soon enough. _

As he thought this, Reno saw that John had gotten up and was rushing at him with his staff raised. Reno brought his rod up to defend himself, but John had another plan in his mind. Instead of bringing his staff down, he brought his foot up, kicking the rod out of Reno's hand and over the railing to the bottom of the pillar. Reno looked at John in anger from the loss of his weapon and brought his hand up to strike him, but as Reno foolishly moved his hand closer to John, his opponent swung his Striking Staff, the sharp end making direct contact across Reno's palm and cutting deep. Reno moved backwards with his hand which was now dripping blood. He continued walking backwards as AVALANCHE advanced on him until he felt his back touch the railing.

_Shit! I have to get out of here! Now!_

Reno heard a buzzing sound behind him and looked to see that Tseng was coming back and saw a figure in pink with him.

_The Ancient! He's got her!_

He looked to the side to see his own helicopter coming to get him and looked back to the other one to see Tseng nod at him before his helicopter flew downwards.

_He must be going with plan B, guess I can go now then._

"Unfortunately, this is where we must part," said Reno as he jumped into his helicopter, wincing as his wound touched the metal.

The team watched as his helicopter flew away in the direction of the Shinra Headquarters building and another came up from below to replace it; they were shocked to see that Aeris was one of the passengers on it.

"Aeris!" yelled Tifa in shock as she ran up to the railing to get as close as she could.

"Tifa, she's safe, don't worry," said Aeris as reassuringly as she could before Tseng slapped her across her cheek, nearly causing her to lose her balance and fall out of the helicopter.

"Aeris! Don't touch her!" yelled John as he went to stand beside Tifa at the railing.

"John, you guys have got to get out of here!" said Aeris as she rubbed her reddening cheek, "this pillar's going to go down soon,"

"But we stopped them from activating the self-destruct mechanism," said a confused and worried Tifa.

"You fool!" yelled Tseng before Aeris could say anything, "Do you really think that we wouldn't have a backup plan in that case?"

Tseng pulled a small metal bar with a button on it out of his pocket and explained, "I planted a detonator in the middle of the pillar so that nobody could reach it. Once we're high above this place, I'll press this button and the mission will be complete."

The team had no chance to say anything back as the helicopter started to fly away.

"Get out of here!" yelled Aeris as loudly as she could as her friends became smaller and smaller to her.

Barret hastily looked around and saw a crane that was hanging off the railing and ran over to it.

"Over here!"

The other three held on to Barret as he grabbed the hook and pushed off the railing. As they were moving, they heard a loud blast and felt a wave of heat behind them.

* * *

Aeris could do nothing but watch as the Sector Seven Plate tipped downwards and fell on top of the slums, crushing the inhabitants to their deaths. She closed her eyes with pain from the sight and looked over at Tseng as she opened them to find him talking on his cell phone. 

"Yes, Mr. President. The mission was a success, and more than I would have believed. You won't guess who I am bringing back. The Ancient! All right, we'll be landing soon Mr. President. Good bye," said Tseng as he hung up his phone and looked over at Aeris who was looking at him with anger in her emeralds.

"I hope you're proud of yourself Tseng," she said in a venomous tone, "You just killed innocent people who had nothing to do with AVALANCHE or anything."

"Aeris…it had to be done," said Tseng as he looked away.

"What do you mean "it had to be done?" Do you understand what you just did?"

"Yes, I followed the orders that the president gave me."

Aeris just looked at him with a look that simultaneously showed hatred, sadness and shock. He looked over at her and moved closer.

"Look, I didn't really want to do this, but orders are orders," he said, trying to redeem himself.

His only reward for the attempt was a sharp slap like the one he had given her a few minutes back.

"Y-you…" hissed Aeris as she tried to stay calm, "I've known you for so long, but I never thought that you would be so…weak…"

After that, they did nothing but stare at each other until the helicopter touched ground and the pilot spoke up.

"Tseng, we've arrived."

Tseng looked over at the pilot and nodded before opening the door, motioning at Aeris to get out. She looked at him one more time with her burning emeralds and climbed out to look at the welcome crew. She saw President Shinra with a happy and devious look on his face, some Shinra soldiers, members of SOLDIER, a man with black hair in a suit, a large man in a green outfit, a blond woman in a red dress, a fat guy in a yellow suit and a bald man who was also a member of the Turks. And that was when her eyes came to the remaining person; the man who had destroyed her childhood and led her mother to her death with his experiments; the man who now stood in front of her, giggling hysterically at her presence.

_Hojo…_


	11. Chapter XI

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thank you to all the readers and special thanks to everyone who took the time to review.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XI

Aeris did not know what to do; in front of her was the man who had made her and her mother into research specimens and now he was probably going to do the same and she was powerless to stop it.

_Mom…I'm so sorry…_

"Well then Ancient," began Hojo in his disturbing voice, "do you remember me?"

Aeris briefly made eye contact before answering in a cold tone.

"Yes, I remember you."

"Ah, excellent then. We can run a few tests now to see how you will be useful for our research," said Hojo before starting to giggle maniacally.

Aeris had to keep herself from spitting on him because she knew that it would lead to a worse fate for her.

_Please, someone get me away from these people. Cloud…John…Tifa…anyone!_

Her desperate train of thought was broken by the sound of another airplane coming down close to the one that she and Tseng had come in. No more than a few seconds after it had landed, the door opened and Reno jumped out, his shoulder damaged and blood dripping from the palm of his right hand. He wasted no time in walking up to Tseng and starting to yell at his boss.

"What was up with that Tseng? Do you realize that I was almost killed by those people?"

"I thought that a Turk would have been able to hold a few rebels off," said Tseng in a cool voice, "Besides, I had more important things to do as you see here."

Reno turned his head and locked eyes with Aeris, who spoke in her mischievous tone.

"Serves you right for stepping on my flowers!"

"Stepping on your flowers? You mean you tried to capture her earlier?" asked Tseng.

"I went by her church yesterday to try to catch her; I thought that she would be alone, I was wrong," explained Reno in a low voice.

"Well then, I guess you better go get those wounds treated Reno," said Tseng.

Reno shot Tseng an annoyed look and gave proper respects to the President before he headed inside the building.

"All right then," said President Shinra as he looked around, "Well done Tseng, this is a most unexpected surprise; I'm going to give you a bonus. We can finally move ahead with some of our other plans if things go right now. Hojo, the Ancient is yours; find out what you need to know about how she can help us to the Promised Land."

"Excellent then, Mr. President!" exclaimed Hojo with one of his disturbing smiles, "let's go then Ancient!"

Two soldiers came around Aeris and motioned for her to follow Hojo into the building. Aeris took one last look at Tseng and then looked at the newly risen sun which was visible up here for a few seconds before following Hojo against her wishes. Tseng watched with a sad glint in his eyes as Aeris disappeared into the building.

* * *

John used his arms to slowly lift himself off the ground as he stood up, not wanting to turn around. 

_I tried to stop them, I really did! I should have known that they would have a backup plan in case Reno failed to set the pillar off from the top, ugh!_

John lowered his head and slowly turned around. As he brought his head up almost against his own will, he saw the others slowly getting up to look at the results of Shinra's attack, just as John himself did a few seconds later. To his shock, it was possibly worse than it was supposed to be, or at least more gruesome. The front side of the plate had fallen at a small angle and then had slid until it had hit the gate as the rest of the plate had fallen and as a result, parts of the victims' body parts were seen sticking out of the bottom, blood slowly drying on the ground and on the rock. The team had to keep themselves from throwing up as they slowly approached the horrifying sight.

"This is awful!" exclaimed Tifa in great sadness as she took a step back eventually.

Cloud and John stayed quiet for a while longer, but Barret was incapable of doing that. He went partially berserk it seemed as he shot the fallen structure in anger, yelling out the names of his fallen friends.

"BIGGS! WEDGE! JESSIE! MARLENE!!!!! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!!!!!!!"

Cloud and John stepped back to keep themselves from accidentally getting shot as Tifa tried to talk to Barret.

"Barret, I think Marlene's safe," she said in a soft and melancholy, but hopeful tone.

"What?" asked a confused Barret as he stopped firing.

"I told Aeris to look after her and before she was taken, she told me that "she" was safe. I think she meant Marlene."

"Damn, Marlene! I've got to find her!"

Unbeknownst to anyone but John, Cloud had slowly walked off onto the path to Sector Five to think to himself as he stopped at the top of a ledge. He still remembered what Reno had called her back at the church.

_He called her an Ancient, that's probably why she was captured, but what are they going to do with her. Damn, maybe one of us should have gone with her to keep a close eye on her…_

"You're thinking about the Ancients, aren't you?" asked a familiar voice as Cloud turned around and saw John walking up the path.

Cloud merely nodded and John continued talking.

"We have to find out more about why they wanted her and what they're planning to do to her."

John watched Cloud nod again as he felt a pinch of guilt.

_Technically speaking, I know everything that he wants to know and more. I even know whose daughter she really is. But I can't tell him, I mustn't. If I do, he might not trust me and then we might not get to Shinra HQ to save her._

"What should we do now?" asked Cloud.

_Damn, what do I say now? I guess there's nothing wrong if I just tell him where we should go next, it seems logical anyway._

"Hmm…maybe we should head to Aeris's house, her mother might be able to tell us why Shinra wanted her so badly, and she deserves to hear that they have her…"

"Yeah, that seems like the right thing to do…" said Cloud slowly as he looked into the distance.

"Cloud! John!" came Tifa's voice from the direction of the playground as she and Barret came running up to them, "Don't go off by yourselves. What are we going to do now?"

"We're going to Aeris's house," said Cloud, "maybe her mother can tell us more about her."

"You're going to help Aeris right?" asked Tifa.

"Yes, but before that there's something I want to know…" said Cloud as he looked upwards and a distant memory flashed through his mind.

John knew exactly what he was thinking about and was reminded that Sephiroth would be making his appearance very soon; tonight as a matter of fact. As John was thinking this, Cloud muttered the name of their soon-to-be target in an extremely confused tone before he fell onto his knees and held his head with one hand.

"Cloud, are you okay?!" asked an alarmed Tifa.

_Why did he mention Sephiroth's name? What does he have to do with all this?_

"Yeah…I'm fine," said Cloud as he slowly got up, "let's go."

"Hold yourself together man, this is no time to fall apart," said Barret as he looked at Cloud with a concerned look. With that, the four remaining members of AVALANCHE set off for the Sector Five slums; the path being without battles as the monsters had been frightened off by the fall of the plate.

* * *

Aeris had been led to the 68th floor of the Shinra Headquarters building and had been placed in a thick glass prison for research specimens. She had tried to punch her way out several times with unsuccessful results. Eventually, she had given up and had collapsed to the bottom of the floor as she leaned against the container and looked up. 

_They'll come for me; I know they will. It's only a matter of time…_

Just then, she heard the door open and looked over to see Hojo enter with the two guards again. She got up and moved as far back as she could, which wasn't much. There was nothing she could do as the guards grabbed her and pinned her to the ground as she squirmed. Once she was unable to move, Hojo walked up to her form and looked her in the eyes.

"We don't have much time; we have to start the research as soon as we can. This could take many years and we cannot waste a single second. First, I have to see the similarities between you and your mother, now hold still…"

Aeris's eyes widened as she saw Hojo pull out a syringe with a needle and three long vials. He bent down and put the needle in the vein in her left arm. She felt strength leave her as her blood poured into the three vials slowly. Once he was done, Hojo removed the needle and cleaned the opening. The guards then let her go and the three of them left so that Hojo could study the blood sample right away, leaving Aeris lying on the floor, breathing heavily as she tried to get her strength back, staring at the ceiling of her prison. This wasn't the first time she had seen this place. She remembered looking at her mother in here from the outside as she tried not to cry all those years ago. On more than one occasion, she herself had been in here as they watched her and discussed what to do with her as she would get older, despite her mother's desperate protests. She felt a tear slide down her right cheek as the long buried memories resurfaced; fear overtaking her of a fate similar to her mother's.

_Mom…help me, please!_

* * *

Cloud guiltily knocked on the door of Aeris's house and waited for an answer, which was only a very quiet "come in." They entered the house to find Elmyra with her back turned to them. 

"You're names were Cloud and John, weren't they? It's about Aeris, isn't it?" she said with a melancholy voice.

"I'm sorry, the Shinra have her," said Cloud as he looked at the floor with guilt.

"I know, they took her from here," stated Elmyra as she turned around to look at them.

"They were here?" asked John, trying to act surprised that they had found her in her home of all places.

"That's what she wanted," explained Elmyra bizarrely.

"Why are the Shinra after Aeris?" asked Cloud.

Elmyra waited a few seconds before answering their questions and telling them what John already knew very well.

"Aeris is an Ancient, the sole survivor."

"W-what do you mean?" asked Barret, confused, "Aren't you her mother?"

"Not her real mother, it's a rather long story, but I will tell you…"

John listened carefully as Elmyra told the story of how she had found Aeris at the train station with her dying mother and how the Shinra had been after her for such a long time, even though he had heard it all before.

"In the end, I never discussed her powers with her or anyone. She tried so hard to hide them and act normal like the other kids, but I knew."

"It's amazing how long she's been able to avoid the Shinra," said Cloud.

"I guess they needed her too much to harm her," said Elmyra.

"But why did they capture her this time? Why didn't she get away?" asked John, already knowing the answer.

"She had a little girl with her. She agreed to go in exchange of the girl's safety."

"That must be Marlene," said a relieved Tifa.

"Marlene?! Aeris was caught because of Marlene?!" exclaimed a shocked Barret as a feeling of extreme guilt came over him, "Marlene's my daughter. I'm really sorry for this…"

"You're her father?! How could you leave a child alone in a place like that?!" scolded Elmyra.

"I dunno how to explain it. I gotta fight for the planet or it's gonna die, but I'm worried about Marlene. I'm sorry, but I can't say it any better…"

"I think I understand what you're trying to say. She's upstairs sleeping, why don't you go see her?" said Elmyra in a softer and more relaxed tone.

Barret wasted no time in nodding and rushing up the stairs. Once there was the sound of a door being opened and the yell of a happy child, John turned around and headed for the door.

"I'm going to go for a walk, I'll be back soon."

With that he shut the door, leaving Cloud and Tifa rather confused.

"He must be worried about Aeris…" said Cloud.

"We all are," continued Tifa in his place as she watched the shut door with a sad look on her face, "what are we going to do?"

"They're probably holding her at Headquarters since that will be the hardest place to get her out of; we have to find out how we can reach that place."

"There used to be a train that went up there, but not anymore," explained Tifa, "We have to find another way,"

"Hmm…then we have to get up on the plate and walk to the building, that's the only option left, but we should wait for a few hours while things calm down so that security isn't as tight in the city."

Tifa nodded in agreement before she sat down in one of the chairs by instinct out of fatigue.

"Would you like some tea? You seem rather tired," offered Elmyra.

"Umm, yes please if it wouldn't be too much," said Tifa, embarrassed.

"Oh don't worry about it, I'll have it in a few seconds," said Elmyra in a relatively optimistic tone as she headed into the kitchen.

Cloud waited a few more minutes and then decided to try to find John.

_It wouldn't do us any good if Shinra managed to capture him as well._

"I'm going to go look for John," said Cloud as he opened the door and left, leaving Tifa alone in the room to herself.

_Cloud…if only we could go back to that night on the well in Nibelheim; everything was so much simpler then…_

* * *

John walked silently through the slums until he came to Aeris's church. He glanced up at the roof and smiled inside at what he saw. 

_Looks like Cloud's falling was right where it was supposed to be._

John then opened the door and walked inside; the children that were supposed to be here were currently absent to his luck. The sunlight that was coming in from the side was hitting the flowers in the middle, making it look like as if they were glowing. He walked down the aisle and looked down at the flowers.

_Looks like Reno did his thing, you can see that someone's walked over them and there are pieces of wood over some of the flowers._

John decided to do Aeris a favor and started to fix up the flowers; removing the wood and making them stand up straighter like they should have been. As he was doing this, an unsettling thought that had been in his mind several times before returned.

_Why am I doing this anyway? It's not like she's going to see this anyway. When we get her out, we won't be able to come back here and we'll have to leave and by the time we return she'll be…dead!_

John finished his work and walked over to the edge of the flowers and the floor and sat down, looking at Aeris's flowers. Unbeknownst to him, Cloud approached the door a few seconds later and slightly stuck his head in to look, deciding to stay silent.

_Aeris…if only she didn't have to end up leaving. She may think that she'll be back, but that won't happen. And she will have no idea that she will meet her end, and neither will the rest of them until it will be too late. They don't know…_

And that was when after all this time, it finally hit him!

_BUT I DO! I know what's going to happen to her, just like I know what's going to happen at Shinra HQ tonight! Maybe…maybe I can save her; maybe I can keep her from leaving and going to the City of the Ancients by herself. That's it!_

With that thought John sat up and looked at the flowers with a great sense of pride.

_Aeris, I'll make sure that you'll see these flowers again! I'll make sure that you get to see Elmyra and Marlene again! I'll make sure that you don't have to sacrifice your future for everyone else's! I don't know how, but when the time comes, I'll do what I have to!_

John was right about to turn around and head back out when something that he should have expected happened. The same experience which had occurred the last time was repeating; he felt as if there were voices around him talking, but this time they were louder and the volume continued to gradually escalate. He couldn't make out what they were trying to say, but he noticed that the voices weren't limited to one group; there were voices of men, women and children. John did not move in shock from this experience and soon the voices were so loud that he instinctively covered his ears, but they did not leave. Cloud watched in confusion as John put his hands on his ears and started mumbling.

"Stop, please quiet, I don't understand, what? what?"

John gripped his head harder and harder and fell on his knees as he shut his eyes, turned sideways and hung his head low as he still held on, still jabbering about quieting down.

"John!" called Cloud out as he stepped in the church but did not dare to get any closer, afraid of what could happen.

As the voices got louder and louder, John heard a familiar one among them calling his name. At this point, the voices quickly died down until they were gone and John opened his eyes. His vision was fuzzy, but as he looked around, he saw something blue floating in mid-air. As his sight came back to him, he saw that Cloud was standing in front of him and the glow of his Mako blue eyes was accented by the sunlight hitting them. John slowly got up on his feet and walked up to Cloud. They locked eyes for nearly a minute without a word being spoken before John continued on and walked out of the church. Cloud stood alone in the church for a few moments afterwards, trying to comprehend what he had just seen.

_What was that? Who or what was he talking to? What's going on here?_

Cloud then remembered that he had come here to check on John in the first place and ran out of the church. He didn't have to go far, as John was just a bit east of the church, sitting on some wreckage. As Cloud approached him, he got up and looked him in the eyes again and spoke after another moment of silence, saying the only thing possible

"Thank you,"

With that, John turned around and started to walk in the direction of Aeris's house as Cloud was left standing alone again, now confused even more.


	12. Chapter XII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter and a special thanks to those who reviewed it.

I wrote this chapter faster than I thought originally, so here it is.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XII

Tifa sat in the chair as she slowly drank her tea. It was good to actually relax for the first time in the last few days, even though she felt guilty because the situation was inappropriate.

_We have to get moving if we want to save Aeris, there's no telling what they're doing to her!_

She finished her cup and put it down, her mind moving to a more pleasing thought.

_At least it looks like Cloud is staying; I don't think he will be leaving with the Shinra now knowing our faces after the battle at the pillar. They probably won't give up on capturing Aeris even if we get her back, so we'll have to keep an eye on her. It's hard to believe that someone as sweet as her could be the sole survivor of the Ancients._

As Tifa was thinking about what they would do if they managed to get Aeris back safely, the door opened and John walked in with a rather anxious look on his face.

"John, what is it? Are you all right?" asked Tifa with a concerned tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine Tifa," said John hastily in a reasonably optimistic tone, although it was obvious to her and him that it was not the case.

"Where's Cloud? He went to get you," asked Tifa, wondering why they did not come back together, unless they missed each other on the way.

"He's coming," said John before quickly adding, "Are Barret and Marlene upstairs?"

"Yeah," replied Tifa uneasily.

"I'm going to go see them, I'll come back down soon," said John as he walked up the stairs and into the room where Barret and Marlene were.

Tifa only had about ten seconds to herself before the door opened again and Cloud walked in with a confused look on his face.

"Where's John?" he asked uneasily.

"He's upstairs with Barret and Marlene," replied Tifa, wanting to know what was going on, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Cloud was silent for a few seconds before he gave an unsure "no" when the answer wasn't even clear in his mind.

_He thanked me? What was going on in the church anyway? Wait a sec, come to think of it, I don't really know much about John to begin with…I don't know anything as a matter of fact about him._

Cloud was silent for a while longer before he lowered his voice so that Elmyra wouldn't hear and asked Tifa a question.

"Tifa, when John came into your bar and joined AVALANCHE, did he tell you anything about himself? Like where he was from?"

"No, I never asked actually."

"You never asked? Why?"

"I don't know, he looked 'lost.' I wanted to help him and he said that he didn't know where to go, so I did the first thing that came to my mind and recruited him without even asking Barret."

"I see…" said Cloud as he went into his own mind again, making Tifa even more concerned.

"What happened Cloud? Is something wrong with John?"

Cloud just looked at her and was about to open his mouth to say something when they heard footsteps from the stairs. They looked over to see John and Barret coming down as Marlene said her farewells to them. Once they reached to bottom of the stairs, Barret walked up to Elmyra while John went over to the wall and leaned against it, looking at the ground.

"Listen, I'm really sorry but, can you look after Marlene for a little while longer?" asked Barret uneasily.

"All right, I'll take care of her, but you take care of yourself, got it?"

"Yes, m'am, I understand," said Barret as he and the rest of the team said goodbye and walked outside, John coming out last.

"Now what?" asked Barret, "We can't take a train up there, it doesn't run anymore."

"I know," said Cloud, "we have to find a way of getting onto the plate."

"Why don't we head to Wall Market? We might find something useful there," suggested John, trying not to sound too suspicious.

Cloud looked at John for a few seconds before speaking.

"That's a good idea, someone there might be able to help us, let's go."

Barret started walking a head and Tifa followed him after giving a concerned glance at John and Cloud, leaving a notable distance between the two groups. Cloud and John waited until they were far away enough so that they wouldn't hear them and started walking. They were silent for a few minutes and then to Cloud's surprise, it was John who spoke first.

"I don't know,"

"What?" asked a surprised Cloud, "What are you talking about?"

"What happened back in the church, I don't know what it was," said John as he kept his eyes on the ground.

"…you kept saying that you wanted something to be quiet,"

"Yes…" said John in an unsure tone, "but I don't know exactly 'what' I was telling to be quiet"

"I don't understand what you're trying to say," said Cloud in a disappointed tone, "Why did you thank me though? What did I do?"

"Well, when you said my name, it became quiet, so that's why I said 'thank you.' 'They' might not have left if you hadn't come."

"'They?'" asked Cloud, confused at John's choice of words.

"Yes, it was more than one, or at least it seemed like it, but so many, it was louder this time too and…" stammered John, trying to make sense of what he was saying, but to no avail.

"This time?" interrupted Cloud, "you mean this happened before?"

"Yes, when I went into that church the first time a few days ago. After Aeris had run out to show me to the weapon shop, I thought I heard…whatever it was, but it was much quieter then,"

John was sounding more and more unsure as the conversation wore on, trying to figure out what he was trying to say.

"Did she know?" asked Cloud.

"No, I didn't tell her, I didn't know what to tell her," said John, knowing exactly who Cloud was talking about.

"Maybe you should tell her. She spent a lot of time there, maybe she'll know what it is," suggested Cloud.

"I don't know," said John, "I don't want her to worry, not even I know what it was that I heard. Besides, Aeris has enough to worry about with the Shinra after her, she doesn't need more,"

Cloud was silent for a while before asking, "You sure?"

"I-I think so…" said John quietly.

"If you say so," said Cloud, deciding not to ask anything else for now.

_I wanted to ask about what he did before he came here, but now would probably not be a good time…_

As they continued walking, John thought back to the church and what he heard.

_What was that? It couldn't have been Jenova or Sephiroth, could it? No, there was definitely more than one, but I still can't rule out that it was them. But if it wasn't them, then who were they? Why am I hearing these things?_

* * *

Meanwhile on the 68th floor of Shinra Headquarters, Aeris had gotten her strength back and was pacing around her container, watching the guards and hoping that her friends would come busting in to get her out. She knew that she didn't have much time until Hojo would find out whatever he wanted to from her blood samples. Upstairs in the room with the controls, Hojo was carefully inspecting the said samples and was rather disappointed with what he found as he compared it to the old data he had about her mother.

_I haven't gotten very far in comparing them and the difference is already 12. I knew that she would be inferior as a specimen due to her having a human father, but I hoped that it would have been smaller than this. Oh Gast, if only you could see just how much of a help your daughter is going to be for us. You thought that when you left, we wouldn't be able to get very far, but now thanks to you, our goals are within reach, hehehe!_

Hojo then decided to check on another specimen that had been here for quite some time and got up from his seat. As he walked down the stairs, he locked eyes with Gast's daughter and smiled as a thought came to his mind.

_The Ancient doesn't even know who her father is, or should I say was, hehe._

Aeris felt a chill run up and down her back as Hojo looked at her. He continued on to the elevator and went down to the 67th floor. As he continued forward, he momentarily glanced at a rare four legged specimen he held to the right before he went a little bit further and came in front of a large metallic container with a window. He looked inside and marveled at what was arguably his most important specimen; Jenova.

_It's been around five years since we've brought this here. Soon, I'll see if my Reunion theory is correct. If only the head was still in place, Sephiroth probably had it with him when he died. But that's all right; it'll come back in the Reunion. Gast, you weren't the only one who had to give up an offspring to a greater cause, but I was voluntary and if you had been as well, you might be alive now._

* * *

Barret and Tifa entered Wall market and Cloud and John came a few seconds later. Tifa looked over and saw that Cloud did not have such a tense face as the last time and neither did John.

_I guess they settled what they needed to, but Cloud did mention something worthwhile; we don't know where John is from or anything about him before he came to us._

Tifa put that thought in the back of her mind as the team looked around to see what they could do that would get them up on the plate.

"Where should we go?" she asked.

"Let's check out the weapon shop," suggested Barret, "everytime something crashes around here, they get out and salvage what they can, so maybe they've seen how we can get up on the plate."

The team followed Barret's suggestion and headed to the weapon shop and asked if there was a way to get up on the plate.

"There's something in the alley next to Corneo's old place," said the salesman

"Old place?" asked John.

"He fled right after the pillar fell; people are saying its cause the Shinra are after him because of something."

"Must have been because we found out their plan," said Tifa.

The others nodded in agreement as the salesman started to speak again.

"You'll need some batteries if you're going to try to get up on the plate, trust me. I'll sell them to you for 300 Gil,"

"You're going to sell us something you found?" asked John.

"Yes, but I repaired them so they should do the job,"

John knew that they were going to need them so he handed over a 200 and a 100 Gil coins and took the three batteries and the team was on their way. As they headed towards the mansion where Cloud, Tifa, John and Aeris had been several hours ago, they saw some kids running over to the alley where they were supposed to go and walked in that direction. Once they got there, they only saw one of them standing in front a giant wire that was leading upwards.

"They all climbed up…" said the remaining kid as he looked up in fear.

"I guess this is the only way to save Aeris," said Tifa.

"That looks…really high," said Cloud as he looked up.

"Yeah, but this is our chance," said Barret as he began to climb the rope.

Considering that he only had one arm, Barret was a really good rope climber, as were Tifa and Cloud. John in the meantime was not as skilled as they were in this field and it took him nearly twice as long to make his way up, pretty much the only thing that had kept him going was the fact that if he let go, he would have fallen to his death. When he finally made it to where the others were he leaned on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Are you ok?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah, no problem" replied John with a fatigued smile, "let's go,"

With that, John took the lead and climbed up and walked down the pipe, coming down to a place where there was a socket for a battery. He took out one of the batteries from his pocket and placed it in. The team watched as the propeller began and stopped once more a few seconds later, only now it was positioned in such way that it acted like a bridge to some railroad tracks. The team walked along this path until they came to a yellow bar with a battery socket. They took the time to look at the wreckage of Sector Seven which was very clear from up here. They saw the remnants of the train station and the pillar, as well as parts of the Beginner's hall. Tifa shed a silent tear when she saw a small part of her bar's sign. This made them realize once more that there was no time to waste, so John placed the battery in the socket and the bar shifted up to provide another bridge. They continued going up until they came to a dead end with another battery socket. After placing the final battery inside, John saw that the only thing that happened was the opening of a small box which held an ether inside. With no other pat open to them, they headed back down and saw a bar which was swinging back and forth.

"Hmm…if we grab onto that, we will able to get to the other side," said Cloud.

"Yeah, looks like it," said John nervously.

"I'll go first," said Cloud, "then we'll see if it's safe,"

Before any of the others could suggest something else, Cloud jumped and grabbed onto the bar with one hand and was carried over safely.

"Come on, its fine," he shouted from the other side.

Barret went up next and did the same thing; the bar had no trouble carrying him over even though he was much heavier. Tifa went up next and her quick reflexes from martial arts training were very helpful in getting her to jump at just the correct moment to easily grab on. Finally, it was John's turn; unlike the others, he did not have much experience doing things like this and he was nervous as hell.

_Oh geez, here goes nothing!_

John jumped and frantically stretched his arms out to grab the bar and in a way so that he didn't drop his staff, which he managed to do. He was successful and held on tightly as he was being carried over and jumped down, landing on his feet and breathing a sigh of relief.

"Okay then, let's go," said Cloud.

There wasn't much left ahead of them and soon they saw the plate approach them.

* * *

Once they got onto the plate, the team looked around the Sector Six city streets which were mostly deserted to due to the collapse of the neighboring plate that morning. They looked at the sky which was visible from up here and took in the rays of the sun, which wouldn't be around for much longer as they saw it getting closer and closer to the horizon. They looked ahead and saw the Shinra Headquarters in that direction

"We better hurry so that we make it to Shinra Headquarters before dusk," said Tifa.

In about twenty minutes, the sun had finally set and the team approached the front door of the building.

"So then, you should know how to get around this place Cloud, right?" asked Barret.

"Actually, this is the first time I've ever been to Headquarters," answered Cloud to everyone's surprise except John's.

"I've heard that every floor above the 60th is special and very hard to get to, so that must be where they took Aeris," said Barret.

The rest of the team nodded in agreement and Barret started to walk towards the main doors before Tifa stopped him.

"Wait Barret, what are you doing? Do you think that we can just go in through the main entrance?" she asked.

"Yeah, what else are we going to do?"

"What if we get caught? We have to find another way!"

"There's no time for that, Aeris is in danger," said Barret.

"But…what do you two think?" asked Tifa to John and Cloud.

"Hmm…Barret's right," said John, "think how long it would take us to get up all of these stairs up to the 59th or the 60th floor. Besides, if they found out that we're in here in that time, it would be hard for us to regroup."

"John's right," said Cloud, "We have to do this as quickly as we can."

"Oh, all right," said Tifa in a slightly annoyed tone, "just be careful, we're here to save Aeris, remember that."

"Got it," said Barret as he got his gun arm ready.

"All right everyone, ready?" asked Cloud.

He looked around to see the others nodding.

"Okay, let's go!"

With that, the team got their weapons ready and charged into the building.


	13. Chapter XIII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all who read the last chapter and a special thanks to those who took the time to review.

Okay, so I finally managed to finish this chapter, I'm really sorry that it took so long. Hopefully, the next one will come quicker, enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XIII

The receptionist on the ground floor of Shinra Headquarters was silently sitting to herself and browsing through a random catalogue to relieve herself of her boredom when the door rapidly opened and four people rushed in with weapons drawn, although she did not see what they looked like since her head was still looking down.

"I'm sorry, but you need an appointment if-"

"Shut Up!" yelled Barret, "Don't need no appointment, this is an emergency. Anyone who don't want to taste lead better get outta here right now!"

The receptionist looked up at the source of the voice and screamed before she ran out of the building in fear, the visitors soon starting to follow her. During this time, three Grenade Combatants which had been patrolling the bottom floor spotted the team and dashed at them with their guns ready to fire. Tifa launched a bolt at the one in the middle and hit his legs, causing him to fall and grip them in pain. While the other two were confused by this incident, Cloud and John rushed up and quickly stabbed them in their sides, knocking their machine guns out of their hands. As the three soldiers struggled to get into a safe corner, Cloud looked up at the stairs and saw that more units were coming.

"We have to hurry!" he said quickly, "We won't be able to defeat them all! Let's get to the elevator! Split up!"

Cloud and John ran towards the left staircase while Tifa and Barret went to the right one. The Shinra units were reaching the bottom just as they started to go up. John launched an ice attack which hit a Mighty Grunt and sent it crashing back, crushing the Grenade Combatants behind it before rolling down the stairs, narrowly avoiding Cloud and John. While the other Grenade Combatants tried to get around the crushed bodies of their allies, Cloud rushed up and managed to take down two of them with quick stabs to their unguarded bodies. Another Grenade Combatant tried to bring its stick down on Cloud but had his attack stopped by John's Striking Staff. Before he could make another move, John brought the other end of his staff through the Grenade Combatant's stomach, causing him to fall and roll down the stairs, lifeless by the time he reached the bottom. On the other side, Tifa and Barret were holding their own. The Mighty Grunt in the front of this attack group had tried to launch a grenade at the, but Tifa had caught it and had thrown it back at them, destroying the Mighty Grunt entirely and leaving only two Grenade Combatants, who were struggling with shrapnel wounds. Barret wasted no time in shooting them down as the two of them continued climbing the stairs. By this time, John and Cloud had already reached the top and were waiting for Tifa and Barret when John thought that he heard something. He looked around to see the Mighty Grunt, now light and quick without its armor, rapidly dashing towards them.

"Cloud, behind you!" shouted John as he jumped around and launched an ice spell which the enemy easily dodged with its speed. Rather than heading for Cloud who was closer, the remnant of the Mighty Grunt made his way around Cloud in less than a second and landed a hard kick on John's stomach, sending him backwards, his head hitting hard against the floor. John tried to focus his eyes but was very wobbly from the blow and the enemy managed to land a punch in before tackling John to the ground again and sending the Striking Staff out of his hand. He was about to attack again when Cloud finally reached them and cut the Mighty Grunt in half at the waist. He then helped John up and handed him his staff.

"Are you okay?" asked Cloud as John's eyes slowly focused.

"Yeah, thanks Cloud," said John.

"You have to keep your guard up. Next time you might not be fortunate enough to have someone get there in the last second," said Cloud in a more serious tone.

John slowly nodded as he looked at Cloud, who indeed had a very serious look on his face.

"John! Cloud!" came Tifa's voice as she got up the stairs and ran towards them with Barret behind her.

"Are you ok?" she asked as she saw that John had been hit.

"I'm fine Tifa," said John in a reassuring tone as he approached the elevator, "should we go?"

Cloud nodded and John pressed the button. The door opened automatically and the team went inside as more soldiers gathered at the bottom of the stairs, wondering where the intruders were.

* * *

Once they got into the elevator, Cloud walked up to the control panel and set it to take them to the 59th floor. As it was going up, Barret noticed that Cloud had a rather disappointed look on his face. 

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Cloud simply stayed silent for a few seconds until John began to speak.

"It probably wasn't the best idea to start such a mess before we rescued Aeris, correct?"

Now it was Cloud's turn to look at John and nod.

"Hm, I didn't think that you had it in you to care for the well being of another person," said Barret as he looked at Cloud.

"You can think what you want," said Cloud in an annoyed tone as he turned around to face to elevator door once more, "Our mission is to rescue Aeris, not blindly attack the Shinra."

Just then the lights went red and the numbers at the top of the door disappeared as the alarm sounded and the elevator started to accelerate.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Tifa as she looked at the screen where the numbers should have been, "we don't know where this might stop now; you have to do it manually Cloud."

Cloud understood what she wanted and pressed stop on the control panel. The team waited as the elevator slowed down and a number appeared on the screen: 18.

"Damn, pressed to soon!" exclaimed Cloud as the team got their weapons ready.

The door opened and a Mighty Grunt entered to be immediately stabbed in the stomach by Cloud; he went on to fall backwards and reveal a Hammer Blaster behind him. It rolled ahead on its wheels and stopped in front of the Mighty Grunt's corpse. As it dried to move around its deceased ally, Tifa quickly jumped up and kicked it, sending it rolling back out of the elevator. Cloud and John went ahead to roll the corpse of the Mighty Grunt out while Barret momentarily stepped out of the elevator to hold the Hammer Blaster back with bullets.

"Barret, get back in!" yelled John once the Mighty Grunt was out of the elevator.

Barret wasted no time in walking back to the elevator while still unleashing bullets. Once he was back in, he stopped and Cloud pressed the button to close the door and ordered it to go up. There were still no numbers on the screen at the top of the door, so they would have to take their chances again.

"We should wait for a few seconds," suggested John.

Cloud nodded in agreement and let some moments pass by before he hit the stop button; this time the screen read 34.

"Still too soon," said Barret in an irritated tone as he got his gun arm ready.

The door opened to reveal three Grenade Combatants with their machine guns aimed squarely at them. The team ducked as bullets narrowly missed them and Barret launched some of his own, hitting their legs and making them fall. They didn't let go of their guns however and bullets went on to hit the ceiling as they tried to bring them back down to attack AVALANHCE. Their attempts were stopped by John and Tifa who quickly knocked the machine guns out of their hands before things went too far. Afterwards, they got back inside the elevator and continued on, leaving the Grenade Combatants screaming with pain as their legs bled from Barret's bullets.

"Let's try waiting a bit longer now," said Tifa, worried about what might come next.

After some time, Cloud stopped the elevator again; this time they just missed their target when the screen showed the number 57.

"Argh, let's get this over with!" exclaimed Barret in annoyance as he got his gun arm ready like the last time.

The door opened, but Barret had no time to launch any bullets as a Sword Dance practically flew in and knocked him into the wall; Cloud and John barely blocking the blades on its side. Tifa acted fast and kicked its head, sending it curling upwards. While its body was moving against its will, John forcefully rammed one of the sharp ends of his Striking Staff into the Sword Dance, ripping off its final third as a result. The mechanical creature lashed in the air as it fell, sending sparks everywhere. Cloud brought his sword down and hit the head, splitting it into two. The team then threw the parts of the Sword Dance out of the elevator and closed the door. This time they stopped just where they wanted to: the 59th floor. They looked around and saw three Grenade Combatants in near the entrance to another elevator; these three guards were easily taken down by Barret before they could make a move. With that, John checked their pockets and emerged with a 1000 Gil bill, 2 antidotes, a potion and a phoenix down, as well as a keycard which had the number 60 marked on it.

"I think we can use this for this elevator," said John as he pressed the button to summon the elevator, which came in a few seconds.

Once they were all inside, John looked out at the view of Midgar which was quite impressive to say the least, before looking at the panel in front of him where there was a slot for the keycard. He placed the card into the slot and when it came back out, the numbers for 1, 59 and 60 were lit up. Looking at nods from his teammates, John pressed the button which said 60 and the elevator started to ascend.

* * *

Thankfully for the team, nobody was paying any attention to the security cameras as they walked out of the elevator, so all they had to worry about were the guards on each individual floor. The seconds they saw that there were guards in the near distance, they rushed to the left where they saw a door and quickly entered it. Cloud then looked out of the other door and saw that there were guards patrolling the area. 

"What do we do now?" asked Tifa.

"Hmm…I'm trying to think," said Cloud, "we have to get to the other side so that we can get up to the next floor.

_I thought that he would have guessed what to do from the start, _thought John, somewhat surprised at what Cloud had just said, _I might as well say it; we have to get to Aeris soon._

"One of us should go ahead first and then they can signal the others when the guards aren't looking," he said, trying to sound convincing.

"That seems like a good idea," said Cloud as he approached the exit, "I'll go first and then I'll tell you when it's safe."

Without another word, Cloud quickly ran behind the first stature and watched as the guards headed to the other side, allowing him to move to the next statue with ease. Afterwards, he carefully watched the guards until they started to walk in his direction, but in such a way that they could not see anything to the side, rapidly dashing towards the center of the room when this happened. He then looked over to where the others were and signaled at them to get ready. John was up first and looked Cloud, waiting for his command. Cloud waited until the guards were closer to him than to John and gave him thumbs up. John quickly ran up to the first statue at waited for the next signal. Cloud now watched until the guards were moving again in such a way that they could not see the sign before giving John the ok to run ahead. After that, he did the same with Tifa and Barret before repeating the whole process once more until all of them were in front of the stairs leading up.

"Everyone ok?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah," said Tifa, "that turned out fine, let's go."

Cloud nodded in agreement and headed up the stairs, the others behind him. They found themselves in what seems like a workers lounge where some of the Shinra employees were relaxing and chatting about the latest happenings; the destruction of the Sector Seven Slums that morning being one of them. They looked around for a few minutes before deciding that there was nothing there for them and went up the next set of stairs, ending up in a hall with two doors ahead of them. Wanting to save time in looking around, John walked off casually to the left and led the others until he found an open door with a man sitting inside.

"Who are you?" asked Barret carefully, ready to attack if needed.

"I'm Mayor Domino," answered the man in a rather embarrassed tone.

"Mayor? You mean you run this city?" asked Tifa, wanting to know how he could allow such things to happen such as what had happened that morning.

"I'm mayor in name only; everything in reality is run by Shinra Inc. Can you imagine that? Me, the mayor! A librarian! It really is a sad situation. But if you're here because you're against them, I can help you."

"Help us? How?" asked Cloud.

"I have a Keycard that allows you to go all the way to the 65th floor, if you can guess my password that is."

"Password?" asked Tifa, confused at what he had meant.

Domino pulled out a board with several words written on it and explained.

"One of these is my password. You can either try to find it out using the books in the library or you can just guess."

Cloud looked at the others and knew that they were thinking the same thing that he was.

_We don't have time for this, we have to find Aeris and get out of here!_

"We'll take a guess," said John, "I pick KING"

"Well what do you know?!" exclaimed Domino in surprise, "You got it right on the first try. That's right, KING! Cause that's what I should be, to hell with Shinra, I wish that they'd just go away! Anyway, since you managed to get it right on the first try, I'll give you something special as well."

Domino reached into his pockets and pulled out a Keycard which said '65' and a blue materia which he handed over to John.

"That's the Elemental materia, it can be used with other materias to give an edge to your attack or defense, now go and give them something they'll remember!"

"Thanks," said John as they walked out and headed over to the next staircase and ascended to the next floor.

When they got out, they went to the right and entered the first door that they saw because the other paths were blocked. Inside they found a machine that told them to insert a workers card.

"What do we do now?" asked Barret.

"Hmm…wait, I found this back in the lounge," said Tifa as she took out a card and put it into a slot. The machine processed it and gave a result which said that they were allowed to open doors three times on this floor. John wanted to hurry up and save Aeris, but he knew that they would actually get something good out of this, so he decided to do this himself to save time.

"Guys, stay here, I'll do this."

"What? Are you sure?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah, it'll be faster this way. It might take us too long if we all wander around and each end up opening a different door or something."

Cloud was about to disagree when Tifa spoke up.

"That's not a bad idea John, just be careful and remember, we don't have much time."

"Got it, I'll be back in a second," said John as he dashed out.

"What did you do that for?" asked Cloud, both surprised and annoyed at what Tifa had done.

"Shh," she said while listening closely as the footsteps faded, "there,"

"There what?" asked Cloud.

"I wanted to talk to you,"

"About what?" he asked, not taking the time to think about what she might have wanted.

"About John…" she said quietly, to be extra safe.

"…"

"I've been thinking about what you said. We don't know where he's from or why he's in Midgar or how he got here or anything…" she said, sounding worried.

"Tifa…I understand what you're saying, but…" began Cloud, not knowing how to end his sentence.

"It's nice having him around isn't it?" asked Tifa, receiving a light nod in response before she smile and added, "I've noticed that you two seem to get along."

Cloud stayed silent but gave another nod. Tifa then turned to Barret who looked like he was thinking about what they were talking about.

"What about you Barret? What do you think of him?"

"…he doesn't seem like a bad guy, that's for sure. He seems like he really wants to help us. An' Aeris."

"So what do we do then?" asked Tifa.

"What do you mean?" asked Barred back.

"Do we question him about his past or his intentions or anything?"

"I don't know," sighed Cloud, "a part of me wants to find those things out, but…"

"He might end up leaving, that's what you're worried about isn't it?" asked Tifa, finishing Cloud's thought.

"Yeah, I don't know what he wants or where he wants to go, but now that he's linked with AVALANCHE, the Shinra will be after him and he doesn't seem strong enough to fight them off by himself. He's not much of an expert fighter," said Cloud in pieces.

Tifa nodded in agreement before stating to speak again.

"…so I guess we stay like this for now…"

"Yeah…I guess we do…" wondered Cloud as they became silent again.

A few minutes later, the duct opened up and John entered, coughing.

"There we go; I got three coupons that we can exchange for items I think," he said as he climbed out.

He walked up to the machine and was about to use the coupons when he saw that the others were staring at him.

"What is it?" he asked, a bit of worry coming across in his voice, "Is something wrong?"

"No John," said Tifa with a bit of a smile, "we're just worried about Aeris. Hurry up and exchange the coupons so that we can go."

"Right," said John as he turned back to the machine and inserted the coupons.

His rewards were a pendant with a star on it, an armlet with four slots and an All materia. He quickly picked up all three and pocketed them as well as he could.

"All right then, let's go," said Cloud as he walked out, the others following once more silently with John thinking to himself.

_Hmm…what was up with them back there? Oh well, no time to think about that I guess, we have to save Aeris._

* * *

On the 68h floor, Hojo had just received a notification that it was time to report on his results to the President and the others. Before going down to the 66th floor, he decided that something had to be done about Aeris. 

_I'm not putting it past the Ancient to try to escape; she has to stay in her place._

He went up to the control panel and pressed a button before heading down the stairs to see her closer. He saw that her eyes were filled with hate towards him and simply smiled. Within a few minutes, she seemed to start to wobble and her eyes started to close and soon she fell down in sleep.

_Excellent, that gas should keep her out for about forty minutes; plenty of time for my presentation._

With that thought in mind, Hojo started to make his way to the 66th floor.

* * *

Around this time, AVALANCHE had made their way to the 66th floor after seeing a gym and a large model of Midgar. They looked around, and eventually arrived at the bathroom after wandering carefully to avoid the workers. Cloud looked up and saw a vent above one of the toilets. Without another word, he climbed up and the others followed suit, not asking why he had done such a thing. Pretty soon, they saw a boardroom below them and the Shinra leaders were assembling to have a conference, so the team carefully lay low in the duct and listened. As the conference went on, they found out that Sector Seven would not be getting rebuilt and that they were going to try to restart something called the 'Neo Midgar' project because they now had Aeris and could find the Promised Land. Afterwards, a man in a lab coat entered and said that Aeris was inferior to her mother and would die before they could finish the research before concluding that a possible idea was to breed her to make sure the research got done. When they were finished talking, the team waited until all of them were gone before talking amongst themselves quietly. 

"So they were talking about Aeris?" questioned Barret.

"Seems like it," said Cloud as they crawled back to the bathroom.

As they left the bathroom and made their way through the floor, they saw Hojo going towards the stairs.

"Hey wait, I've heard of that guy Hojo," said Barret, "He's the head of Shinra's science department. Don't you know him Cloud?"

"Actually, this is the first time I've ever seen him," answered Cloud, "so that's what he looks like,"

They watched as went up the stairs before Cloud spoke again.

"Let's follow him; he might lead us to Aeris."

They wasted no time in talking the same path that Hojo took, but as they got closer to the stairs, John became more and more worried. Not because of Hojo, but because of something else that was on the floor above them.

_Jenova…_


	14. Chapter XIV

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all who read the last chapter and a special thanks to those who reviewed.

As Malefactior pointed out, I rushed a bit with the last chapter, but I think that this one came out better since I took more time, enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XIV

Cloud carefully walked up the stairs, making sure that they were behind Hojo by a considerable amount so that he would not hear them. He made sure that he was not visible as Hojo opened and closed the door and continued on his way to the elevator. Tifa, John and Barret followed behind Cloud and stood beside him at the door as they waited for time to pass since Hojo wasn't exactly the world's quickest walker. As they waited, the contemplated their next move.

"Should we just get to work when we see Aeris?" asked Barret, ready to shoot anyone in his way.

"Hmm…I don't know," said Cloud with an uncertainty, "If it'll land her in even more danger, then it might be better to lay low until it'll be safer."

"Do you think Hojo will try something once we show up?" asked Tifa.

"Probably," answered John, "Judging by the way he was speaking about Aeris back at that meeting, I don't think he plans on letting her go anytime soon."

"We'll have to make sure that she won't get caught in the crossfire if there will be one," said Cloud, who received nods of agreement from the others.

"Let's go," said John as he approached the door, "we don't want Hojo to get too far,"

"Wait!" exclaimed Cloud suddenly as John was about to get close enough for the door to open, "Stand back!"

"What?" asked John, confused at Cloud's sudden order.

"Now!" commanded Cloud a bit louder, but still quiet so that only the people in the room could hear him.

John obeyed without another question and Cloud took his place near the door while John went back to stand with Tifa and Barret, who also seemed curious in what Cloud was going to do.

As Cloud got his sword ready to strike, the others slowly became aware of what he was worried about; there were footsteps obviously approaching the door from the other side. Cloud held his breath as the footsteps momentarily stopped before they started once more. A few seconds later, the door opened and Cloud brought his sword down, not caring who was entering. It turned out that it was a 3rd class SOLDIER who had guessed correctly that there were intruders on the other side of the wall and had thrust his sword in first, but he did not guess how strong his enemy was and Cloud's strike brought him tumbling forward as he held on to his sword which had just been hit. As soon as his head entered the room with the stairs, Cloud head butted him hard and sent him stumbling to the side. While the 3rd class SOLDIER tried to regain himself, Cloud brought his Buster Sword forward and embedded his sword in the SOLDIER's side. As his life rapidly faded away, the 3rd class managed to yell a distinct "in here" as he slumped to the ground. John had watched this whole scenario in shock, realizing that he would have been killed if Cloud had not stopped him. Before he could continue that through further, Cloud jumped back and three more 3rd class SOLDIERs entered with their swords drawn. Barret wanted to put holes in their bodies, but he knew that if he fired here, he might hit his friends, so he opted for throwing a fire ball at them, but it was easily stopped by them with their swords. However, this gave John (who had apparently gotten his senses fully back) to rush ahead of Cloud and bring his staff down at the closest 3rd class who had left his legs unguarded by raising his sword to the side to deflect the fire ball, which went to the side and hit the wall, causing few visible damage. The end of the Striking Staff went through the 3rd class's feet and got stuck in the floor, making him turn his head downwards and let out a scream of shock and pain for about a second before Cloud ran his sword through his stomach to keep him from getting even more reinforcements to come. Cloud then rushed to the other side of the room to join Tifa, who was trying to take down one of the other two but was so far unsuccessful in landing a blow. This left John alone as he tried to get his staff out of the floor and the fallen 3rd class's foot. As he gripped it with both hands and was trying to pull it out, he failed to notice that the remaining SOLDIER had walked right up to him and was getting ready to attack. John noticed a shadow and was about to look up when he felt the SOLDIER's knee connect with his stomach. It then slowly came out, only to be replaced by his fist. Once the fist came out, John instinctively grabbed his stomach in pain and hung his head, leaving its back exposed. He now had no way to defend himself as the SOLDIER brought his elbow down on the back of his head, sending him falling to the ground; John barely managed to get up on his hands and knees.

_Damn it!_

The SOLDIER was about to bring his sword down to finish John when he felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down to see a giant metallic blade going into him, causing him to drop his sword in the realization that this was it for him. As his life faded away, he looked further beyond the blade to see a blond warrior with cold, glowing blue eyes before he succumbed to his death and the sword was pulled out of him. Meanwhile, Tifa had managed to dispose of the other SOLDIER once Cloud had joined her; as the SOLDIER had been trying to block Cloud's attacks, Tifa had managed to land in several powerful blows, eventually ending by crushing his skull with a powerful punch. She looked back to notice John slowly getting up, trying not to show his pain from the attacks.

"John, are you okay?" she asked as she got closer.

John mumbled a "yeah" before he found Cloud holding his staff out to him. John looked at him with an ashamed look on his face before taking it.

"Never do that again," warned Cloud as his eyes burned into John's, "you could have been killed. How do you think that you can rescue Aeris if you can't even protect yourself long enough to reach her?"

Unable to say anything, John simply looked at the ground while Cloud looked around to make sure that they were safe for now, noticing something peculiar in the meantime; the SOLDIER that he and Tifa had defeated had a sword that was different from what the others had. He walked up to the corpse and picked up the sword; he'd heard about this, it was called a Hardedge. Deciding that it would be a good addition, he placed it on its back on top of the Buster Sword. When he turned back around, he found the others waiting for him sufficiently away from the door.

_Wow, I guess that taught them something, _thought Cloud with a slight bit of humor to himself.

He then walked through the door and looked around; it didn't seem like there were anymore enemies on this floor for now, so they had a chance to get back on Hojo's tail.

"There's nobody here, let's hurry," he told the others as he started moving forwards.

They walked slowly and cautiously, walking especially quietly around the doors so that the workers in side would not hear them. During this time, John slowly picked up the pace to get up to Cloud before speaking.

"C-Cloud?" he spoke, not sure whether to expect an answer in return.

"Yeah?" was the reply after a short pause, which partially relieved John.

"I'm uh, really sorry that that happened. I-I should have paid more attention."

Cloud let out a nearly silent sigh that only John could hear before replying.

"Look, we're all ok so that's what's important. Just…be more careful from now on."

John nodded in the most optimistic way that he could as they continued on.

_He's right; I can't do something stupid like that again. At this rate, I'm going to get killed before Aeris if this keeps up!_

As they walked, John saw that the room was opening up, knowing what was coming next.

_Jenova…what if it is her that's causing these voices? What is she going to do when I get close? Or worse, when she is freed?_

Turning a corner with Cloud, they saw Hojo in the near distance and quickly got behind a box along with Tifa and Barret so that they wouldn't get noticed. Hojo was standing in front of a tank with a red creature that bizarrely resembled a large dog inside.

_It's Red XIII, _thought John,_ I nearly forgot about him with Aeris and Jenova on my mind._

"Is this today's specimen?" asked another person in a lab coat who came from the other side.

"Yes. We're starting right away. Raise it to the upper level. My precious specimen…" replied Hojo in a bizarrely giddy tone before following him to an elevator on the other side of the room.

Once they were gone, Tifa walked up to the tank and looked at the creature inside. It didn't seem to mind her and simply continued lying down, not that it could do anything else.

"Hmm…precious specimen…do you think it's going to be used in a research project?" asked Tifa as she looked at it.

"Maybe…" replied Barret uneasily.

John walked up to take a closer look at it and managed to catch its eyes. Not knowing what else to do, John smiled, knowing that it would be leaving with them soon if everything went right. Cloud in the meantime was fixated by something else in the room right next to them; a massive container with a window. John averted his gaze to it as well; afraid of what might happen if he looked at what was inside. Cloud stepped forward and looked inside for a few seconds before grabbing his head and collapsing to the ground.

"Cloud! What's wrong?" asked an alarmed and worried Tifa as she knelt down to help him get his head up.

"Jenova…Sephiroth's…so, they've brought it here," mumbled Cloud as he stared at the container in shock.

"Sephiroth?" asked Tifa, with a new tone of fear in her voice.

"D-did you see it?" stammered Cloud, "It's moving, still alive"

Cloud got up as Tifa went over to the container and looked inside before looking away with a nauseous look on her face.

"God…"

"What is it?" asked Barret as he took over Tifa's spot and looked inside before yelling in shock and stepping back.

"What the #&, Where's the #"$+ head?!"

Cloud was completely silent at this point as he seemed to stare into space. While Tifa and Barret watched and waited for him to snap out of it, John slowly walked up to the container and looked inside; what he saw inside made him want to scream. It might have looked bearable on a TV screen, but up close the body of Jenova was absolutely horrifying. Why did Cloud have to question whether it was alive or not? The entire body was clearly in motion as the chest moved up and down with the purple skin seeming to emit a sweat of some sort, despite the cold temperature of the window. As John looked higher, he saw that there was purplish blood leaking from the sides from where the head should have been; the bumps in its place showing that it was obviously being moved while the wound had been healing and must have hit the crates or something. The alien substance slowly dripped down the creature's sides and breasts as it continued to slowly heave its chest up and down. Finally, John could take no more and started to walk back until he believed that was sufficiently enough away from the creature's prison to start breathing again, which he did very slowly. He then turned his head to the left to find the others staring at him, understanding his feeling of horror.

"L-let's hurry," suggested John in a quiet voice that could not become any louder for the moment being, "We don't want Aeris to be in the same building as…that!"

_The voices…they didn't come, what does that mean?_

Cloud took one more look at the container and then at Red before nodding and moving in the direction of the elevator, the others slowly doing the same. At the entrance to the elevator, John found a green materia which seemed to have a green form inside it.

_This must be Poison…_he thought as he pocketed it.

Tifa pressed the button for the elevator and looked back in the direction of the container, feeling a chill run up and down her spine.

_Sephiroth…they never did find a body in the end…_

"Tifa, you coming?" came John's voice, snapping her out of her thoughts; the elevator had arrived and it was time to go.

"Yeah, sorry," she replied as she turned around and stepped into the elevator with the others.

* * *

Once they reached the next floor and got out of the elevator, it became apparent that they had no choice but to act now because there was no place to hide here and Hojo was well aware of their presence as he momentarily looked at them before shifting his gaze back to a glass container in the middle of the room. As the team walked closer to the middle of the room, they saw that Aeris was lying unconscious in the glass container.

"Aeris!" shouted John as they picked up their pace upon recognizing her.

"Aeris? So that's her name," spoke Hojo in a monotonous tone as he watched her through the glass, "what do you want?"

"We're taking Aeris back," announced Cloud with anger in his voice.

"Hmph, outsiders," mumbled Hojo under his breath as he continued not to look at the intruders.

"Ugh, you evil…" began Barret in anger as he aimed his gun at Hojo.

"You're going to shoot me? I don't think that would be wise," said Hojo, finally looking Barret in the eyes, "Without me, who would operate this delicate machinery?"

"Ugh, damn it," spat Barret as he lowered his gun arm.

"That's right," said Hojo, "you should try to think things out logically before making rash decisions, Now then, bring in the specimen!"

The elevator in the middle of the glass cage started to move as Aeris slowly opened her eyes and slowly got up on her feet. In a few seconds, the red creature that they had seen on the floor below a few minutes ago came up and started to violently growl, causing Aeris to run to the edge of the container and start pounding on the glass.

"Cloud! John! Get me out of here!" she yelled as she continued her attempts to break the glass with no success.

"What are you doing?" asked Tifa in horror as she watched her friend try to get out.

"They're both endangered species," explained Hojo in a devious tone, "So we're going to breed them and lend nature a helping hand."

"You're going to-that's disgusting!" exclaimed Tifa as her eyes widened.

"You're gonna pay Hojo, step back everyone!" ordered Barret as he aimed his gun arm at the top of the container and started to shoot.

As the bullets unloaded, the inside of the container started to fill with a fog like substance as Aeris and the creature vanished from sight. Once the entire container was filled with the substance, the front door opened, but the inside was not visible yet.

"What are you doing? My precious specimens!" shouted Hojo as he ran ahead and stopped in front of the container.

As the artificial mist cleared up, the red creature was revealed to be standing about two feet away from Hojo. Before he could make another step, the creature lunged at Hojo and pinned him against the ground, giving John the chance to run into the container to see how Aeris was.

"Aeris, are you ok?" asked John in an alarmed tone.

"Yeah, I thought that he would attack me," she replied, referring to the creature that now had Hojo at its mercy, "Thanks for coming, I knew you would."

Aeris then gave one of her trademark smiles as to everyone's surprise, the creature got off of Hojo instead of starting to devour him and came up to Aeris.

"I apologize for that; I was only trying to distract Hojo,"

"I-it can talk?" blurted Tifa in surprise.

Before anyone else could speak, the elevator started moving again and Hojo started to laugh as he crawled away from the team.

"This is an extremely ferocious specimen, I'm sure it will have plenty of fun as it kills you," he said as he ran towards the stairs.

"He's rather strong, I'll help you out," said the creature as it took a battle stance by kneeling on its front legs, ready to pounce.

"Somebody get Aeris to safety," said Cloud as he took out his new Hardedge.

"No," said Aeris before anyone else could say anything, "I'll fight with you. They put my stuff over there, give me a second."

With that Aeris ran to the other side of the room and started to look around, knowing that they had put her staff & armlet with the materia here.

"Aeris!" yelled Cloud in frustration, trying to get her to cooperate.

"No time Cloud, it's here!" exclaimed Barret as he got his gun arm ready.

Cloud turned back around and saw a tall and bizarre creature which had razor sharp teeth in its shoulder and a massive claw come from the bottom of the floor. Before it could do anything, the red creature jumped at him, ferociously clawing and biting into its other shoulder before the claw grabbed him and threw him back out of the container. Red XIII managed to land safely on all fours as HO512 tried to run out of the container, only to be kicked back in by Tifa.

"Stand back Tifa!" shouted Barret as he got in line with the opening of the container and raised his gun arm.

Tifa managed to get out of the way just in time as a hail of bullets flew into the container, hitting the creature inside over and over. After what seemed like ages, Barret stopped to take a good look at the results. Inside the container, the creature had survived and got up on its feet. What happened next shocked the team; the bullet wounds started to slowly heal until they were nearly unnoticeable.

"Dammit, what is this?!" exclaimed Barret.

"He has to be stopped quickly before he can regenerate" explained Red XIII.

"Now he tells me…" mumbled Barret as HO512 finally stepped out of the container as everyone had stepped back in fear. It held out its claw in front of hit and a ball of light started to form. The ball of light then moved forward and split into three parts which then took form as small creatures.

"Don't worry about destroying those," advised Red, "It'll just make more. If we take him out, they'll die too."

"Great to hear that," said a female voice as a fireball sailed over Red and hit HO152 square in the chest and sent him falling back into the container yet again.

The team turned around to see Aeris, now armed with her staff and her Mythril Armlet equipped.

"I told you I could help," she said with a sly smile.

Before anyone else could comment, the three samples split up and attacked the group. One tried to jump on Tifa, but she was quick to hit it back with a backhand. Another rushed at John, who walked back a few steps before swinging his staff upward and sending the sample flying back. The final one tried to take a hit on Cloud, but had no chance as he was sliced in half in mid air. During this time, HO512 had walked out of the container and was met by a fireball from Red, which it managed to deflect. Barret then decided to keep it from moving and started to unload bullets in its right leg.

"Hey guys, hurry up and hit this thing!" he yelled as he continued the barrage.

The remaining two samples had gotten up and were trying to attack Tifa and John once again, which left Cloud, Aeris and Red to act while they had the opportunity. Aeris launched a fireball at its left leg, bringing it onto a knee. Red XIII also launched fireball, but instead aimed at its claw, swinging it back from the impact. With the body now completely unguarded, Cloud rushed ahead and plunged his sword through the creature, causing it to yell out in pain. Barret ceased his attack as Cloud pulled the sword out and ran back to be a safe distance from the enemy. By this time, Tifa and John had disposed of the samples and went to stand with the rest of the team. They watched as HO512 clutched its wound, which it was having trouble to regenerate due to using so much energy to heal itself from Barret's bullets at the beginning of the battle. They were ready for him try to leave himself open as he would try to create more samples, but he did something else. Instead of extending his claw to create samples, he brought it closer to himself to act as protection while the mouth on its shoulder opened. The team watched as a purplish gas started to form and spill out through the razor sharp teeth.

"Don't get close!" warned Red, "that poison will kill you!"

John began to think about using the elemental and poison materias to get in close for an attack or the Star Pendant, but before he could act, Aeris took a step forward and stood in front of the creature. The others didn't do anything to hold her back as she extended her arm outward, trying to bring it in line with the mouth, which was now starting to open and close. She waited for a few seconds before the green materia in her Mythril Armlet started to glow and a fireball appeared in the palm of her hand. The next time the mouth opened, she shot it straight ahead and to her luck, HO512 ended up accidentally swallowing it. With that, she slowly walked backwards until she was with her friends and they watched what would happen next. In a few seconds, the gas stopped coming out and the mouth closed. HO512 tried to move, but the bullets which Barret had put into its leg were keeping it in place. As it tried to concentrate its energy to heal itself, the fireball did its job as it reacted with the gas inside HO512 and set off an explosion inside him, destroying him completely in a sphere of fire. The team did not move as the smoke settled until they were sure that the creature was dead for good.

"All right then," spoke Barret, getting everyone's attention as he turned towards Red, "Now that that's done, who or what are you?"

"An informed question, but one that's difficult to answer," replied the creature slowly, "I am what you see. I'll answer more questions later, but first let us get out of here,"

"Can you at least tell us your name?" asked Tifa.

"Hojo named me Red XIII; a name which has no meaning to me whatsoever, so call me what you wish."

"Hmm…how about just Red?" suggested John, seeing as that's what he called him in his mind.

"…Red will do," was the simple reply.

"Right," said Cloud, "we should head for the elevator on the 66th floor. I'd suggest that we split up, but we have to be quick and make sure that no one is left behind, so we have to be really careful."

"Good idea," said Tifa as she looked around the room and saw a hall way, "Hojo went this way, so there must be some stairs."

As they started to walk, Aeris spoke for the first time since the battle.

"Thanks everyone."

"Don't mention it," said Barret happily, "You saved my daughter's life and I owe you."

John in the meantime was worried about other things, knowing what was waiting for them when they entered the elevator.

_The Turks are just waiting for us; do we really have to go this way? I guess we do though, because we might get killed by Sephiroth if we stay out here. But after he leaves with Jenova, I won't be able to find out if it's them who are causing these voices. Should I-no that would be suicide, but-_

"John?" came Aeris's voice as he looked over to find a concerned look on her face, "Are you ok? You seem rather tense."

"I'm okay, I just want to get out of here, I don't like this place," he replied, trying not to show his worry.

"Yeah, me too," she said rather quietly, trying not to relive the memories again.

As they were walking, John found a keycard with the number 68 imprinted on it and decided to pocket it.

_Never know when this might be useful…_

* * *

In what seemed to be too little time, the team approached the elevator door on the 66th floor and John inserted the keycard and waited for the elevator to arrive, shifting his eyes around and trying not to get noticed by the others.

_Dammit, I have to decide now! They won't let me go just like that, but if I time my move correctly…_

As he was pondering that thought, the elevator arrived and the rest of the team stepped inside.

"John, let's go," said Cloud, wanting to get far away from this place.

John gave one more look at the 66th floor and stepped inside the elevator and the door shut behind him.

_All right, here we go._

John walked towards the control panel, careful not to step too far away from the wall, but before he could insert the card, the door opened again and two men in suits walked in. The team turned their hands to see who it was. One of them was a bald man with glasses and the other was a familiar figure.

"Tseng!" exclaimed Aeris.

"I hope you had a fun time," he said in a calm tone as he took out a gun, "Now then, would you please press the 'up' button?"

John saw that Rude was standing to the left of Tseng, who had walked decently far from the door of the elevator, leaving a space there. He took a look at his teammates and caught Cloud's eyes, who realized very quickly what John was planning to do as his pupils widened.

_No John, don't try it!_

John put the card back in his pocket and quickly ran between Reno and the elevator wall, getting back on the main floor and continued running without looking back. Tseng turned around in surprise and pointed his gun at the escaping figure.

"Get back here!" he yelled as he prepared to shoot.

"Tseng, no!!!" yelled Aeris as she grabbed him and pulled down, sending the bullet flying upwards and hitting the ceiling.

Rude acted fast and restrained the young woman as she tried to struggle and Tseng went back to pointing his gun at the others.

"Okay then," he began in an exhausted and angry voice, "Unless anyone else wishes to test their luck, we will be going now,"

He slowly advanced towards his panel and used his own keycard to activate it. The team minus John could do nothing as the door closed and the elevator started to ascend.

Meanwhile, at the foot of the stairs that the team had just come down stood John, leaning against the wall and catching his breath in fear.

_What have I done? What am I getting myself into? I was supposed to stop Aeris from doing this sort of thing and now I'm doing the same…_

Taking a deep breath, John started to walk up the stairs to the 67th floor.


	15. Chapter XV

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John. I also do not own the rights to Sheryl Crow's Strong Enough.

Like so many times before, thank you to all who read the story and a special thanks to all who reviewed.

This chapter was originally supposed to be done in a different way, but I ended up taking it in a slightly different direction. I put an explanation at the end but don't read it until after you have read the chapter, enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XV

Two Shinra soldiers stood outside the elevator door on the 69th floor of Shinra Headquarters. They had been told by the President himself to wait for Tseng and nothing more. It seemed that that was a fast made order, as only two minutes after they had arrived, the elevator door opened to reveal Tseng, holding a gun with an annoyed expression on his face, Rude and five other individuals (who had been handcuffed while they had been in the elevator) at whom Tseng was pointing the gun.

"Sir!" saluted the soldiers as the group of people was led out at gun point.

"Take this woman and put her in one of the cells on the 67th floor," ordered Tseng as he pointed at Aeris with his other arm.

The two soldiers approached the woman who backed up against the wall in tension, not wanting them to touch her.

"I-I can walk without being restrained," she said as she looked at Tseng with pleading eyes.

Tseng looked back at her for a few seconds before sighing.

"All right, don't restrain her, just walk her and make sure she doesn't get out."

"Aeris," called Cloud as the soldiers surrounded her and started to walk in the direction of the stairs, "Be careful."

She only had time to reply with a quick nod and a look of determination before one of the soldiers nudged her forward with his rifle and they continued. As the sound of their footsteps disappeared, Cloud reminded himself that they were in quite a compromising position.

"The president has requested that we take you to him," informed Tseng with a sly smile.

"The President? Why would he want to see us?" asked Tifa.

"It's quite an achievement that you've gotten this far. Even more that one of you managed to escape…" said Rude before taking a scolding look at Tseng for his clumsiness at not being able to stop John, "…for now."

"What are you going to do to John?" asked Cloud, worried about his safety.

_Dammit, that was a very stupid move John! These guys can be merciless._

"That all depends on his cooperation," said Rude in his usual, stone tone.

"Enough talk," said Tseng, "It's time to go."

There was no further talk as the team was made to line up in single file with Tseng at the front and Rude at the back. They then walked around the floor to the stairs and started going up the right set, with Barret trying to keep himself from exploding.

_Ugh, can't believe we got caught! And now that scum is going to laugh at us!_

Tifa herself was feeling her brain flood with thoughts.

_What are they going to do to us? Are they going to execute us? They probably will…we have to get out of here! But we can't leave John and Aeris behind…John, why did you run off?_

In a few seconds, they saw the end of the stairs and the President coming into view. He sat in his chair with an evil smile on his face and got up as the team was made to stand around his desk. He looked around and found himself surprised with the number of people before him.

"I thought you said that there were four human intruders," he said, questioning the Turks failure.

"There was one more, but he got away for now Mr. President," said Tseng before quickly adding, "But do not worry, he shall be caught soon enough."

"Just make sure that he doesn't get the Ancient, we can't afford to lose her," ordered the President before shifting his gaze back onto AVALANCHE.

"What are you going to do to Aeris?" asked Cloud with a sense of urgency.

"We're going to use her to her maximum potential. She's the last surviving Ancient, don't you know? They called themselves the Cetra and lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history," explained the President with great interest.

"Cetra? She's a survivor of the Cetra?" asked Red in a bewildered tone.

_A survivor of the Cetra…how unbelievable…_

"Cetra, or the Ancients will show us the way to the 'Promised Land,'" continued the President, "I believe that she is the key to that."

"The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?" asked Red, still processing their plans in his mind.

"Even so, it's far too tempting not to pursue!" laughed the President, "They say that the land there is very fertile and if that is true…"

"Then there's got to be Mako," spat Barret in anger.

"Exactly!" exclaimed the President, "That's where we will build Neo-Midgar, Shinra's new pride and glory. The Mako will just come out on its own once we build our reactors there!"

"Quit dreaming, you piece of #!"

"Oh don't you know? All it takes these days for your dreams to come true is power and money," smiled the President, "Anyway, that concludes our meeting. Good bye."

"Get back here, I'm not done with you!" yelled Barret as he was restrained by Rude.

"Let's go" he said without a hint of emotion in his voice.

The other members of AVALANCHE chose not to follow Barret's example and simply walked with Tseng down the stairs as the President watched their retreating figures with glee.

_So close…soon there will be nothing that can stop me!_

* * *

As the team had their "conversation" with the president, John was slowly walking towards Jenova's chamber on the 67th floor; his breathing was heavy from fear. He stopped by the boxes and knelt down to not be seen by anyone and to think and formulate his thoughts. 

_This is it; if Sephiroth doesn't try to do something funny to me (other than kill me), then it will mean that he and Jenova have nothing to do with these voices, or at least I think it will. But what if it is them? What will they do? What If it's something else? Then what choice do I have? Will Cloud help me try to find out what it is then? He won't be happy with me trying to see Sephiroth; I can't even explain it correctly to him. God…what have I gotten myself into? What am I doing here?_

Just then, he heard footsteps coming from the direction that he had come from. He slowly got up and hid behind the wall as he looked at the advancing figures; it was two Shinra soldiers who had Aeris walking between them in handcuffs with a sullen look on her face.

_I forgot that Aeris doesn't go to see the President; they bring her down here first!_

He watched as they led her down the hall to the cells before turning right. There was the sound of handcuffs being unlocked and a door being opened before one of the guards spoke.

"All right, get in here and don't try to escape."

She seemed to obey as there was no sound of a struggle; only that of a door closing.

"Now what?" asked the other guard.

"I'm supposed to watch her, but I haven't had anything to eat today, I'm so hungry."

"Then let's go down to the lounge and get something to eat. The others are caught as well, so there's no way she will escape."

"Hmm…I guess you're right, let's hurry though before Tseng comes."

After that short conversation, John carefully waited until the guards were gone as well as the sound of their footsteps before venturing down the halls to the cells. He stopped at the first one to the right, knowing that Aeris was in there. He looked down the hall first to make sure that nobody would hear him before he began to speak.

_--------------------------------------------_

_Sheryl Crow – Strong Enough_

_--------------------------------------------_

"Psst. Aeris, are you there?" he whispered to be safe.

On the other side of the door, Aeris had been sitting down on the floor staring at the ceiling when the voice caught her off guard. She quickly crawled up against the door and began to whisper back.

"John? John, is that you?"

"Of course it's me, who else would it be?" he said, trying to lighten up the mood as he sat down and leaned against the door so that they could hear each other better.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for stopping Tseng before he shot me," he said, still keeping the light hearted tone in his voice.

"Why did you do that? Why did you run away? I was worried about you, we all were," asked Aeris, catching John off guard, especially because she sounded so concerned.

_Oh boy, this is a tough one. What do I say? I don't want to make her worry even more._

"Umm, I thought that there would be no chance of all of us escaping from here alive if all of us got caught. So I thought that if I managed to get away, I could find a way of getting everyone else out,"

"John…that's really…brave of you," said Aeris, surprised at what they had both just said, "But it still wasn't a very smart thing to do, you could have been killed!"

"Well, I'm alive aren't I?" he said jokingly, "They'll probably bring the others here too, so try to get some rest. You'll need it if we have to escape."

"What about you?" she asked, "Don't you need to rest?"

"I'll be okay, don't worry about me," he replied, trying to reassure her; in reality, he was feeling rather fatigued after all the fighting and worrying about what will happen.

A moment of silence followed before Aeris gave out a light chuckle.

"Hm? What's so funny?" asked a confused John.

"I've been avoiding the Shinra for about fifteen years without a problem," she said in a lighthearted voice as she gave out a laugh, "Then I meet you and in less than a week I'm in their cells…"

"Aeris…" he began in a saddening tone, "I'm really sorry for all this…I should have kept Tseng from getting you…"

"Don't worry John, it's not your fault," she said, trying to cheer him up before smiling even though he couldn't see her, "Besides, I'm glad. It was worth it."

"Worth what?" asked John, now even more confused.

She gave another laugh before replying.

"Meeting you," she said simply.

"Aeris…" he said as he stared at the floor, "I…know why they were after you, Elmyra told us."

"I figured that out," said Aeris with a sigh, "This isn't my first time in this building either…"

"This is where you escaped from with…your real mother, yes?"

"Yes," she said very quietly.

"Well don't you worry, I'm going to make sure that you get out of here again," he said as bravely as he could.

There was another moment of silence before Aeris spoke with a more serious tone in her voice.

"John…why are you doing this?" she questioned.

"Doing what?"

"Helping me. Promising to get me out of here. Coming here to talk to me even though you could get caught. Why are you doing all this when you could escape from here and never look back?"

John thought about his reply until he found the perfect way to get back at her.

"Because it's worth it," he said with a smile that she couldn't see, but knew was there.

"Oh is it?" she asked, breaking into a laugh halfway through.

"Yeah," he replied, laughing as well.

It was a miracle that they weren't found out, but that thought never crossed their minds.

"John?" she asked once they had finally stopped, which had only been about ten seconds.

"Yeah?"

"If we do manage to get out of here, what do you plan to do?"

"I don't know. The Shinra will be onto us and especially you, so everyone will have to be careful. I might stay with AVALANCHE if that's possible, but we'll see I guess."

"Yeah, I guess…" said Aeris.

"What do you want to do after you get out?"

Not wanting to put an "if" into his sentence, Aeris looked up at the ceiling and started to speak.

"I want to find out more about the Ancients. About who I am, and about what happened to make most of them vanished. About why I'm apparently the only one left…" she said, her voice dying off towards the end.

"You're lonely," said John a few seconds after she finished, "There's things which you can't explain to anyone, can you? Because they just won't understand."

On the other side, a tear silently slid down Aeris's cheek; not bothering to wipe it away, she continued the conversation in a quiet and melancholy tone.

"Yes, exactly. If there was even one more, just so I could talk to them, it would be enough. Someone who could understand my problems and the planet's problems…"

John stayed silent as Aeris paused to sigh before continuing.

"When I was a kid, after I escaped and started living with my stepmother, I tried so hard to pretend that I was just like all of the other kids. They were all running around wishing that they could fly and be heroes and be 'special,' but I wasn't. I didn't have to because I was 'special' and I didn't like it one bit. I kept playing along with them, but I felt so stupid while doing it and I knew that none of them would understand if I tried to tell them. I always wished that I could have one friend who would understand, who could understand, who would listen…"

After yet another moment of silence, John spoke softly.

"I-I don't know if I can understand, but I'm willing to listen…"

"John…" whispered Aeris as she looked up at the ceiling before starting to smile again and regaining a lightly joyous tone, "Thanks."

"For what Aeris?" asked John.

"For everything you just did," she said in a hopeful tone, "You've listened more to what I've already had to say than anyone else in years,"

"…you're welcome," he said quietly, but also with a positive tone.

"And John?" she suddenly asked.

"Yes?" he replied, slight concern showing.

"…when you said that it was worth it to stay here…you meant that right?" she asked in an anxious voice.

"Of course I meant it," he replied as reassuringly as he could.

"So then…when I get out of this cell…I'll see you, right?"

At that point, John understood exactly why Aeris was asking these questions and replied with what she wanted to hear.

"Of course you will, don't worry about it."

Just as Aeris was about to speak, John heard footsteps in the distance coming up the stairs and decided to hurry up.

"Aeris, someone's coming, I have to go now. Get some rest, you'll need it when the opportunity comes," he quickly said.

"All right, stay safe John. Thanks again for everything," she said before adding, "See you soon."

"You can count on it," said John before hurrying off as quickly and as silently as he could to get back to the boxes near Jenova's containment chamber.

_---------------------------------_

_End song_

_---------------------------------_

Once he reached the boxes, he knelt down again and looked back to see one of the guards from before coming back and heading in the direction of the cells. With nothing more to do for the moment, he sat down in such a way that he would not be seen and looked at the hall, waiting for what was going to come. As he sat there, his thoughts drifted back to the final moments of the conversation he just had with Aeris.

_It was because of Zack that she was asking those questions. He promised to come back, but he never did…and never will. But she doesn't know that it wasn't his fault… Aeris…_

John's beliefs were correct to the point, because at that very moment back in her cell, Aeris was thinking about the same person.

_Zack…it's been five years. I hope you're happy, I really do. Hopefully, John can keep his word, unlike you. I know he will, I just know…_

* * *

About ten minutes later, several footsteps were heard as the rest of the team descended the stairs and were led to the cells by Tseng and Rude. 

"All right, you guys better not try anything funny," said Tseng as he opened the doors.

"You won't get away with this, you bastards!" spat Barret as he started to walk to the furthest cell on the right

Cloud and Tifa ended up taking the middle cell and Red went to the furthest one to join Barret. Once that was done with, Tseng locked the doors and turned to Rude.

"Let's go, the President will want a report of a job well done. We better see Reno too; he's still pissed off about what happened at the pillar."

"I told him not to go over his head, it's his own fault he got injured," said Rude as they started walking down the hall back in the direction of the stairs.

"Aeris? Are you here?" called Cloud out loud, remembering that Tseng had told the soldiers to take her to this floor.

"Cloud?" came a voice from the room to his left, "Cloud, are you safe?"

"Yeah I'm fine, how about you?"

"I'm ok, I knew you guys would come to save me," she said rather happily.

"Hey, I'm supposed to be your bodyguard right?" asked Cloud with a smirk although she couldn't see it.

"Yup, I said there would be the bonus of one date if you did a really good job, right?" she asked in her mischievous manner.

"Oh, I see now…" said Tifa as she stood up from the bed.

"Tifa?! You're there too?!" exclaimed Aeris in shock and embarrassment.

"Why yes I am," said Tifa, trying not to sound rude before continuing, "Anyway…Aeris, can I ask you a question?"

"Uhh…sure," replied Aeris with an uncertainty in her voice.

"Does the Promised Land really exist?"

"…I don't know Tifa. All I know is that the Cetra were born from the planet, speak with the planet and unlock the planet. And then, the Cetra will return to the Promised Land, a land which promises supreme happiness," said Aeris before sighing and adding, "But I don't know what that means…"

"What is the planet saying now?" asked Tifa.

"I can't hear it here; it's full of people and noisy…"

At this point, Barret decided to speak up so that even Aeris could hear him.

"So then if the Promised Land exists and the Shinra get there, then they will destroy it. We can't let that happen. That's It! AVALANCHE is back in business, I'm recruiting new members. Me, Tifa, Cloud, Aeris, John and what about you, will you join?" he asked Red, who decided to stay quiet with his mind on his home.

_Grandpa…I'll find my way back…_

Tifa in the meantime felt a tinge of sadness when John's name was mentioned, as did the others.

"John…I wonder if he's okay…" she said in a melancholy tone.

"He is Tifa," reassured Aeris, "He came here and talked to me before you guys came."

"He was here?!" exclaimed Cloud, "Where is he now?"

"He had to go when the guard came back…"

"What is he going to do? Why did he jump out of the elevator and nearly get shot?" asked Cloud.

"…he said that he's going to help us escape," whispered Aeris to be extra sure that the guard did not hear them.

"Escape?" said Cloud as he lowered his voice as well, "How?"

"I don't know," replied Aeris, "But he said that we should get some rest until he figures out how."

"Hmm…that would be a good idea Cloud," said Tifa, "There's no use in just walking around this cell when we can get back our strength."

"…All right, I hope he knows what he's doing," said Cloud as he walked over to the other side of the room and spoke so that Barret would hear him, "Barret, Red, get some rest. John's going to get us out of here soon,"

"John? How?" questioned Barret.

"I don't know, but Aeris said that he told her that he's going to find a way to free us, so we have to be in the best condition possible if we want to get out of here," replied Cloud.

"You hear that?" said Barret to Red, "We'll be high tailing it out of here soon, so get some rest!"

Red didn't need to be told twice, so he simply allowed his eyelids to descend as Barret leaned back against the door and closed his eyes.

"You take the bed Tifa," said Cloud as he laid down and leaned back against the wall.

"Are you sure Cloud?" she asked, feeling a bit guilty.

"Yeah, don't worry about me,"

"Cloud, do you think that John's going to find a way to get us out of here?"

"…Yeah, I don't know why, but I'm sure that he won't give up," he replied as he closed his eyes.

"You're right, there's no need to worry," said Tifa as she laid back and closed hers as well.

Meanwhile in the room, behind Cloud, Aeris laid down on the bed and looked at the ceiling as she slowly went to sleep, reliving the conversation she had a few minutes ago.

_John…_

* * *

About two hours later while the team was silently asleep, John was still awake; sitting down by the boxes next to Jenova's chamber. Every now and then, he had instinctively glanced back at the chamber and had resisted the urge to throw up when he remembered what he saw in there earlier today. 

_Aeris…I will keep my promise to you…I'll make sure of that!_

As he finished that thought, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, but there was something different about these ones. They were strangely silent, but very firm and they seemed to bring a cold air with them.

_Oh no, it's…him!_

There was nothing John could do but watch as the figure which he had been afraid of since entering this building entered the room armed with the massive katana blade known as the Masamune with his long silver hair seeming to glow like his jade eyes as he looked over at Jenova's chamber and gave a smirk.

_Sephiroth!  
_

* * *

All right, like I previously said, this was originally going to be done a bit differently. I was going to have this chapter go through Sephiroth's attack on the building as well but as I was writing the scene with John and Aeris I kept writing more and more and eventually, I decided to focus on that. Personally I believe I made the correct choice by splitting the concept into two parts and putting the conversations here and saving the action for the next part, plus I personally think that the scene between John and Aeris is the best writing I have done so far as far as this story is concerned. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more. 


	16. Chapter XVI

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Okay, I wasn't expecting to have a month between updates, but I had a lot of things suddenly pile up and I had to sort through them. I don't know how often I will be able to update for the next few months, but I will say that I'm definitely not abandoning this story.

I also might update older chapters at some points so I'll keep you alerted if that happens.

One new thing which I will be trying out from now on is putting songs in chapters. Sometimes when I am writing, a scene is inspired a great deal by a song that I'm listening to, so at some points I will mention the song in the story and if you know the song, maybe it can help you get into that scene more. An example of this is the scene between John and Aeris in the last chapter, which I updated with the song mention. So if you have some extra time, you can go back and try reading that scene as you listen to the song if you are interested.

As always, thanks to all the readers and a special thanks to all those who have taken the time to review the story up to this point, enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XVI

Walking forward with a smile of malice on his face, Sephiroth slowly approached Jenova's cell and peered in to look at the figure inside.

_Mother, it is time!_

He wasted no time in raising his sword and ramming it in from the left side of the opening, causing John (who had apparently not been noticed) to hold his breath in fear and amazement. Sephiroth then slowly brought his sword around the door of the chamber, cutting the thick metal with ease without ever touching the creature which lay inside. As the blade continued to cut through the metal, smoke started to slowly spill out towards Sephiroth's feet. While the former general smiled as he continued his work, John silently watched with a look of horror in his eyes.

_I'm in over my head here! If he can cut through that, there's no telling what he can do to me!_

With no other choice available which would leave him alive, John continued to watch without making a sound. Once the Masamune had come full circle, Sephiroth withdrew the massive blade and grabbed hold of the door and pulled, bringing the entire part of the chamber which he had cut out before tossing it to the side, not caring if anyone heard the crash. With that obstacle removed, he stared into the chamber at the creature inside and spoke for the first time.

"Mother, I have come."

John felt a chill go through his spine when Sephiroth had spoken. It wasn't what he had said, as much as it had been the fact that he had spoken, which had reminded John why he was here in the first place.

_I have to find a way see if he knows about me…_

But before John could continue that thought, another voice spoke, this one sending much more shocks of fear through him.

"You have arrived…Sephiroth…"

This voice had female traits, but it sounded inhuman and had an alien rasp to it, as if someone was dragging something along the inner walls of this creature's throat. It was then that John looked into the chamber and saw Jenova's full body for the first time.

_Oh God!_

The sight added to the previous nauseating image of her upper half. There were wires firmly attached to her sides and lower half, which were the same eerie purple color as the rest of her body. Her whole body seemed to be unnaturally drenched, as if she had sweated in anticipation for her escape. As John inspected her body more, he noticed that she also had wires holding her by her wing like appendages from her back.

"Mother, should I cut you free?" asked Sephiroth in his cold voice, although there was an undertone of anticipation.

"No Sephiroth, you have already done enough in that respect, I will finish this part myself."

With that Jenova started to slowly move forward as Sephiroth smiled and John watched in horror, hoping that he had managed to remain hidden. The wires holding her did not give without a fight, but she continued to move forward and eventually they began to come out, tearing off massive chunks of her skin with them. Slowly, the restraints had come out and Jenova stood with gashes releasing crimson cascades to the floor, a vastly different color than the previous purple from her neck. Her body was not exactly as John remembered it, the lower half looked more like a torn dress of thin flesh with legs underneath as it flapped when Jenova flexed her body slightly and the appendages from her back were facing downward as she was not engaged in battle.

"Let us leave," said Jenova in an eerily calm voice as Sephiroth nodded in agreement.

As the two of them started to walk back, John moved back against the nearest wall and held his breath.

_Don't let them find me, don't let them find __me; don't let them find me…_

Thankfully for John, they didn't seem to notice him and continued and as John watched, he couldn't help but notice the blood sliding down Jenova's body and onto the floor, leaving an ominous trail which he recognized.

_That's what the trail of blood was! It wasn't the blood of the people which Sephiroth killed, it was Jenova's blood!_

As he watched Sephiroth and Jenova go into the hall, he heard a voice from the direction of the cells where the rest of AVALANCHE was being held.

"Hey you, stop!"

_It's that guard from before!_

John didn't have time for another though as a loud gasp was heard.

"You, but you're supposed to-"

That was all which was uttered before the loud sound of metal slicing through flesh was hear, followed by a slump. John didn't dare to make any kind of movement until he heard Sephiroth and Jenova continue walking down the hall in the direction of the stairs. In less than a minute, John heard screams from the floor above with the sound of metal hitting the floor.

_I have to hurry!_

John got out from his hiding spot and ran to the hall where Sephiroth and Jenova had been shortly before. As he walked in the direction of the cells, he got the urge to throw up there and then.

_This- this is horrible!_

The guard hadn't just been killed, he'd been sliced in half along the torso and the two halves now lay in a pool of blood. John looked away in disgust in the direction of the cells where the others were before knowing what he had to do. Trying to clear all thought from his mind, John knelt down at the edge of the pool of blood and reached his hand out into the visible pocket of the lower half of the guard.

_Come on, it's got to be here somewhere!_

As the horror continued upstairs, John accepted that the keys were not in this pocket and that there was no other option but to check the other pocket. Trying one again to cease his thoughts, he reached into the pool of blood with his right hand and searched for the pocket, the loud splashes echoing in his ears. After a few seconds, he found the opening, but was unable to stick his hand inside. Cringing, he plunged into the crimson pool with his left hand and slowly brought the pocket out, shifting the whole carcass in the process. With the pocket now out of the blood, he reached deep inside with his right hand and found the keys in less than a second. Pulling his hand out, he nearly gasped when he saw that there was blood on him nearly up to his elbow. Wasting no time, he immediately got up and rushed to the cells and opened them one by one. As he looked at his teammates inside, he pondered on whether to wake them.

_No, not yet. If they come now, I won't have the opportunity to find out what I want._

Taking one last look, John dropped the keys and took off to the elevator to the laboratory with a firm grip on his staff.

_Just don't stay asleep for too long…_

* * *

Jenova stood silently as she watched Sephiroth dismantle one guard after another, and sometimes in groups as well.

_He'__s grown to be amazingly strong, not even I could have predicted that he would achieve this magnitude of power! Thankfully, my cells keep him under my control…_

Sephiroth wasted no time in annihilating every guard which tried to take him on, not breaking any sweat in the process. Screams rang through the air before being followed by severed limbs and organs.

_We should be leaving instead of wasting time with these mice… There was someone else down there besides the puppet; this one was in the room where mother was, I felt his presence, there's something there…_

* * *

On the 61st floor, the top members of Shinra (aside from the President and Palmer) were having a rare moment of just sitting around, as were the Turks. Reno was still mourning his wounded palm, complaining to his teammates Tseng and Rude and a cadet named Elena.

"Geez Reno, will you calm down? It's not the end of the world," said Rude in an annoyed tone.

"Calm down? I don't think even you could stay calm when your hand has been sliced open!"

"It's your fault," said Elena in a weary tone, "You should not have underestimated your opponents."

"What do you know? You're not even a Turk Elena," snapped Reno in annoyance, "It's cause Tseng here had to go hunting for the Ancient instead of sticking to the plan!"

"Elena is right Reno, you should have been more careful," said Tseng in a relaxed tone, "Besides; I did manage to capture Aeris, something which you had failed to do the previous day."

Reno was now nearly growing red in range as Elena let out a light chuckle. Before he could explode, Tseng's cell phone started to ring. Surprised as he was not expecting any calls, he cautiously answered.

"Hello? Yes? What? H-hey calm down…"

The others watched as Tseng slowly started to get a strained look on his face as he tried to keep the conversation going with the person on the phone, who seemed to be screaming in fear before rapidly hanging up.

"What is it?" asked Rude in a rarely concerned tone.

"We should go upstairs; something's going on, something bad."

With that, the three Turks plus Elena silently got up and headed towards the elevator.

* * *

Stepping out of the small elevator, John felt yet another urge to throw up once again. It was worse than he could have imagined; every organ which he could name was found somewhere on the floor. There were mutilated bodies moaning in pain as the last bit of life that they had was slowly fading. Closing his eyes, John started to run, but after a few seconds he slipped on the metal floor which was wet with blood and his face landed on something soft. Getting up, he slowly brushed some moist material out of his face until he opened his eyes and saw fresh blood on his hands. That when he looked down at what he had landed in and saw a human heart which had all but collapsed from the impact of John's fall. Nervously getting up, John looked around one last time at the remnants of the carnage and slowly continued with a new look of fear in his eyes.

_I-I have to go __on; I've come too far to turn back now. Sephiroth should still be in the building._

* * *

John turned out to be correct as before even climbing the stairs to the 69th floor, he heard the sounds of slashes and screams. He followed the train of blood until he reached the door which led to the main room and the stairs. It was open and as John peaked inside, he was just in time to witness Sephiroth impaling an employee against their desk as others scrambled to get to safety. Some ran past John's way without even taking notice of his presence due to the magnitude of the threat. Throughout all this, Jenova remained stationary in the middle of the room, blood still pouring from her wounds, the drenched "dress" now stuck to her legs. When the room was empty save for Sephiroth, Jenova and several corpses, the two of them stood silently for an few moments before Sephiroth turned to the left and started to ascend the stairs with Jenova following behind, the blood staining the expensive violet carpet. After waiting for about a minute after their forms disappeared from his vision, John entered the main hall to be greeted once more by corpses.

_This…this is awful!_

Before he could decide whether to continue up the stairs or not, he heard several footsteps behind him and turned around to meet the equally shocked Turks. Among Reno, Rude and Tseng, there was also a blond woman in a simple white T-shirt and jeans who John recognized to be Elena. Tseng took one look around the room before looking at John who had blood on his hands and face.

"What happened here?" he asked.

John stayed silent ad looked at the ground, unable to say anything.

"Come on," said Tseng, who was now annoyed, "These people have been killed by a sword so I'm not going to put the blame on you. Now tell me, who did this?"

"…Sephiroth."

"What?!" exclaimed Reno, "But he's dead!"

"…he's here right now. I saw him go upstairs," said John quietly.

"Upstairs?!" exclaimed a shocked Elena as she started to walk in the direction of the stairs, "The president is up there, we have to save him!"

"You'll die," said John simply, freezing her in her tracks.

"What?!"

"I saw him…kill all these people and break Jenova out. You have to get out of here!"

"But the president-" began Elena.

"Forget the president and worry about yourself!"

"…but what about you?" asked Tseng, surprising the others by his question.

"…I have to stay, there's something I have to find out."

Tseng hesitated a little before asking another question.

"What about-"

"She's safe," said John, knowing exactly who he was talking about, "They all are and they will probably be here soon."

A moment of silence followed before the President's yell was heard from upstairs.

"What are you doing?!!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!"

There was the sound of a slash and a thud which followed. Elena looked at John and then at Tseng with a fearful look which she was trying to hide.

"You were telling the truth then," said Tseng, "Reno, Rude, Elena, let's go back down, we have to warn the others."

"But-"

"No Elena, John's right. We cannot die here."

Taking one last look at the stairs, Elena nodded and started walking back in the direction of the door.

"John," said Tseng, who didn't get a vocal answer in return but the gaze of an unsure man.

Tseng waited until Elena was standing together with Reno and Rude before finishing.

"You stay alive as well…for now."

With that, Tseng turned around and walked back to the elevator with the others behind him, leaving John by himself with Sephiroth on the floor above him.

"Now what?" asked Rude once they were inside the elevator.

"First things first. Elena, congratulations."

"What?" asked the confused woman.

"You are now a member of the Turks, you will pick out the proper attire in a few hours."

"What?! Her?! A Turk already?!!" exclaimed Reno in surprise, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, we need as much strength as we can get now, I have a feeling that things are going to get rougher from here," answered Tseng as he took out his cell phone and started dialing a number on his speed dial.

"Who are you calling?" asked Rude.

"Rufus," said Tseng, "With his father dead, he's the new president, I'll tell him to come here right away."

As the elevator moved downwards, Elena stood with a surprised look on her face.

_I-I'm a Turk…so quickly…_

* * *

A few minutes prior to Elena's surprise promotion, President Shinra had been sitting at his desk when Palmer had walked up to him with some issues on how the financial capital was being allocated.

"Sir, we should invest in the space program. Much money might come from searching the stars. Why Cid Highwind-"

"Forget it Palmer," interrupted the President, "Highwind blew his chance when he stopped that rocked from taking off. We wasted enough money on that, now we have something much more financially viable: Mako. Once we find the Promised Land, we will be rich beyond our wildest dreams yet again."

"Yes, that's what you want, isn't it? The Promised Land…" came a voice which the President hadn't expected to hear ever again.

The President and Palmer looked over to the left set of stairs to see someone from beyond the grave.

"Sephiroth…it can't be!" whispered the President in shock.

"Ah, but it is," said the silver haired general as he approached the desk and Palmer stepped back until his back was against a pillar, "It looks like you have been doing fine for yourself Mr. President. Word is that you have a Cetra in this building that you will use to find the Promised Land."

"W-what? How do you know that?" asked the President in an increasingly nervous tone.

"Mother has heard what you have said; she told me everything."

"Mother? You don't mean-"

The President's voice suddenly died down when he saw Jenova walk up the stairs and stand in visible sight.

"I-impossible!"

"But no, Mr. President," said Sephiroth in a calm tone, "I have freed mother and now I cannot let you have the Promised Land."

"What are you talking about? What do you want?!"

"I once believed that we had the same agenda, but now I have different plan and unfortunately, you cannot remain alive for it to be fulfilled," said Sephiroth calmly as he raised the Masamune.

Realizing what was about to happen, the President leapt up in a panic as Sephiroth approached him.

"What are you doing?!!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!"

Those were the last words which he would ever speak, as Sephiroth jumped and the Masamune pierced his chest less than a few seconds later, his lifeless body collapsing on his desk. Sephiroth then calmly removed the Masamune from the dead President's body and walked over to Jenova, completely ignoring Palmer's presence in the process.

"It is time mother, let us be on our way."

With that, both Sephiroth and Jenova turned to the direction of the balcony and walked out, leaving a terrified Palmer behind. A few minutes passed and then another figure came up the stairs. Palmer was horrified to find that this one had blood on his hands and face and less than a second after they locked eyes, he ran and fled down the second set of stairs.

_Where is he? Did he leave already? _thought John as he went over to the window.

Thankfully for him, Sephiroth still stood outside next to Jenova with his back to the building.

_What is he waiting for? He hasn't even taken action against__ me, even though chances are that he knew I was following him? Does this mean that he's not connected to these voices?_

John was starting to hope for the best when the unexpected happened. Sephiroth slowly turned his head around fixed his jade gaze directly at John, burning into his hazel eyes. The resulting shock kept John from breathing. They kept eye contact for about a minute with Sephiroth giving a slight, but very noticeable smile at the end. Finished with that, he turned his head to look at Jenova and put his hands around her waist. Not taking another look at his surroundings, Sephiroth flew upwards before heading towards the edge of the city with Jenova firmly in his grasp. Back at the top floor of the Shinra Headquarters, John was still staring out of the window, the color completely drained from his face. Slowly, he kneeled and sat on the ground and leaned against the wall, letting out long and exhausted breaths saturated with fear.


	17. Chapter XVII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Like so many times before, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

Since there was over a month between the last two updates, some might be shocked to see this one come less than two days after the last one, myself included. But I felt really compelled to write this chapter as soon as possible, so enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XVII

Midgar's Sector Four held a few high class facilities, among them being a five star hotel. Despite warnings of a possible attack on the nearby Mako reactor after the destruction of the one in neighboring Sector Five as well as Sector Seven, the owner decided against closing it for the time being. At the top floor was a penthouse where a phone started to unexpectedly ring. It rang for five times before it was picked by the man that it had just woken up.

"Ugh, Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. President,"

Light blue eyes opened in confusion as he recognized the voice on the other end. Sitting up and running a hand through his golden blond hair after turning on the nearby light, the man spoke again.

"Tseng? What's wrong? Why did you call me that?"

"Because that is your position now Rufus. Your father was killed less than five minutes ago."

"What?" he asked in response rather calmly as his pupils slightly widened, "By who?"

"Sephiroth," was the sole response.

"Sephiroth? But he's been dead for five years."

"Apparently he's back, and I heard your father getting murdered by him."

"You heard him?" asked Rufus in a puzzled tone.

"…it's rather complicated, I can explain it better when I see you in person," replies Tseng, knowing that Rufus would figure out what to do next.

After an irritated sigh came the awaited reply.

"I'll be there within the hour."

* * *

The door to the elevator on the 61st floor of Shinra Headquarters opened and the four Turks emerged, heading straight for the table where the Shinra executives were sitting. No time was needed for them to understand that something was wrong. 

"What is it?" asked Reeve in a concerned tone.

"The President is dead," announced Tseng in a low voice so that nobody outside the area of the table would be able to hear them, "He was killed by Sephiroth about five minutes ago. Rufus is the new president of Shinra Inc. and will be arriving here soon. Elena has also been accepted into the Turks."

A moment of silence passed around the table until Scarlet dared to speak up to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"Sephiroth is…alive?"

"Apparently," replied Tseng.

"What should we do?" asked Reeve.

"We should all stay here for now until Rufus arrives, then we'll make an announcement. There was a bloodbath up there and we don't want people panicking right now."

A round of nods around the table showed that everyone understood him.

* * *

The outskirts of Midgar were barren with no entrance or exit for those who did not have a keycard to open the gates to the slums. Few people were ever seen in this area for longer than a few seconds as they rapidly strode into Midgar to avoid monsters or bandits. Under the cover of the dark, two figures softly landed on the ground. Before continuing on their way, they decided to look back at the Shinra HQ that they had just escaped. From this distance, the building did not look nearly as menacing. Jenova stayed silent and focused her power to slowly begin healing her wounds from the wires in her from her containment chamber to stop the blood from flowing, while Sephiroth had his mind on something else. 

_That man…he must be…but that is not possible…__or is it? This is most unexpected…if he is to follow Cloud…then this will get interesting indeed…_

Sephiroth then turned his head to look at Jenova, who was now a bit drier than before. He waited for a few seconds before asking her a question.

"…you felt it too, did you not Mother? About that man?"

After a few seconds, the creature nodded.

"Yes, I did. I was not expecting this. Do you know who he is?"

"No, I do not," replied Sephiroth as he shook his head.

"Hmm…is he going to come after you with the puppet Cloud?"

"I believe so. I know that Cloud and some others with him were captured, but one had escaped. Perhaps he was that one."

"Then their paths should cross again."

"Indeed," said Sephiroth as he took one last look at the city before turning the other way.

"We should be on our way mother. It should only be a few hours maximum until they escape I believe. We should try to gain as much ground as we can, you cannot fly so we have to travel on foot."

There was no further discussion as Jenova and Sephiroth started walking away from Midgar. As they left the massive city behind, Sephiroth had a minuscule regret in his mind.

_I should have gotten his name…_

* * *

In the cells on the 67th floor of Shinra Headquarters, Cloud strife opened his eyes after a few hours of sleep to find a pleasant surprise. 

_The door's open! Did John do this? Where is her?_

Looking around, he saw that Tifa was still asleep, so he quietly got up and walked out of the room. Looking to the left, he saw a shocking and disgusting sight. The guard that was supposed to have been watching their cells had been sliced in half and was partially marinating in his own blood.

_What the- What happened? Who did this? Did John- No, there's no way he could have done __this; it was done by a sword. So then where is he? _

As cloud started walking closer to the remains of the guard, he stepped on something. Lifting his foot, he saw that there was a key underneath it. He then remembered the conversation with Aeris before he went to sleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"…_he said that he's going to help us escape," whispered Aeris to be extra sure that the guard did not hear them._

"_Escape?" said Cloud as he lowered his voice as well, "How?"_

"_I don't know," replied Aeris, "But he said that we should get some rest until he figures out how."_

----------------------------------------------------------------------

_John…he did manage to free us, but that still doesn't explain where he is, unless…_

Not wanting to think further, Cloud walked a bit further to find his fears elaborated when he saw bloody footprints leading in away from the corpse down the hall.

_Oh no!_

Wasting no time, he rushed into the nearest cell and started shaking Aeris, trying to get her to wake up.

"Aeris! Aeris, wake up!"

The young woman opened her green eyes to meet blue ones which showed unnatural worry.

"Cloud? What is it? Did something happen?" she asked, oblivious to the developments in their situation.

"Yes, something did happen," he said quickly as he rushed out of the room to wake up the others.

Getting up, Aeris slowly walked out of her cell and looked to the left, nearly screaming when she saw the torn corpse. Looking to her right, she saw Tifa standing there with an equally shocked expression on her face.

"W-what happened?" she asked, knowing that Aeris did not have the answer.

"WHOA!" exclaimed Barret in shock as he ran up to join the two women.

Once the five of them stood together, Tifa looked around and asked the question which was on all their minds.

"Where's John?"

"I-I don't know," replied Cloud solemnly, "but we have to find him!"

"But we don't know where he is!" exclaimed Aeris in worry.

"I think we can find him if we follow these," explained Cloud, pointing to the bloody footprints on the ground leading away from them.

"These- These are probably John's," said Aeris as she knelt down to look at them closely before getting back up, "so he did get us free, but why didn't he stay?"

"I don't know, we'll ask him that when we find him," said Cloud, "and I think we should hurry."

"What do you mean?" asked Red, noticing that there was something else underneath what Cloud was saying.

"Whoever did this," said Cloud as he pointed at the corpse, "is probably still in this building, as is John…"

"No! You're not saying that…John might be…dead?" asked Aeris, whispering the last word.

_No, he said that I'd see him! He promised…_

"I-I hope not," said Cloud as he looked at the floor.

_Dammit John, why didn't you wake us up? Why did you continue by yourself? Heh, look at me, accusing someone else of acting on their own…_

"There's no time," said Cloud as he regained his composure, "Let's go!"

"You three go ahead," said Barret, motioning to Cloud, Aeris and Tifa, "Red and I will clean up back here and make sure that we're not followed."

"All right, don't take too long," said Cloud as he departed in the direction of the footsteps with Tifa and Aeris.

Soon enough, they saw that Jenova had escaped and that the foot prints were joined by a trail of blood as Cloud felt chills go through his spine.

_John…you better be alive…_

* * *

Coming out of the small elevator, Cloud, Tifa and Aeris were greeted by the sight of a bloodbath. Whoever had done this had destroyed the guards to their maximum, the proof being the body organs which lay lying around the room. 

"This is awful," said Aeris, plugging her nose to block out the rotten smell.

"Did John come through here?" asked Tifa as she looked around.

"Yes, it seems like it," replied Cloud, looking at the ground to find more foot prints.

Following them, he made deductions on what must have happened when John came through here.

"He was going this way, but look, the footprint slides here, so he must have slipped or something. Then he got up and continued."

All three were disturbed to find a human heart close to where John should have slipped. Looking away from the gruesome sight in the direction of the footprints, Aeris noticed something peculiar.

"Hey guys, look at this," she said as she walked over to the edge of the room, "There are three sets here, not only John's."

Cloud walked over the where Aeris stood and closely examined the evidence before him. One of them was definitely John's, while one of the others seemed strange as it was slightly noticeable in all the blood; it appeared whoever this was had taken small steps. And the third…

"No…" gasped Cloud as he stepped back.

"What is it?" asked Tifa, concerned with Cloud's sudden shock.

"…it's him Tifa, HE was here," replied Cloud quietly.

"He? Who are you-" began Tifa before looking at Cloud's face and realizing who he meant.

"But…that's impossible," said Tifa again, her voice now as disturbed as Cloud's, "He's dead…right?

"…I don't know," said Cloud.

"Who are you talking about?" asked Aeris, confused by their behavior.

"…we have to hurry," said Cloud, "John might be in grave danger."

Aeris looked at him and then at Tifa who nodded in agreement to realize that she didn't have to ask any questions.

* * *

Back on the 61st floor, the Turks had sat down to join the others so as to not arouse suspicion that something had happened upstairs. 

"…how bad is it?" asked Reeve.

"It's…pretty bad," replied Reno, who seemed to have forgotten his injury after seeing the scene upstairs.

_That guy might be dead now…I thought of getting him back for what he did to my hand, but this…_

"Tseng, what are we going to do about Cloud and the others?" asked Rude, although he could figure out the answer before Tseng had spoken it.

"If they get out, then they get out. There's no way we can be seen going up there twice and it would be better for this place to be as quiet as possible for the next few days. That won't happen with them in the cells."

Rude nodded in agreement before he went back to staring at the table.

* * *

Following the footprints and the trail of blood, Cloud Tifa and Aeris found themselves in a large room with two large stairs leading upstairs, one stained with blood. The picture here was similar to the one in the lab due to the excess of corpses in the room. Looking at the way that they had been killed, Cloud became more and more worried about John and who was responsible for this. 

"This was all done by a sword," said Cloud, "HIS sword."

Tifa rightly ran her hand across her chest over the scar which she had received five years ago and tried to block the memories out before starting to speak.

"…we have to go upstairs. If HE is back and still in this building, we have to get to John as soon as we can."

Cloud nodded in agreement and the three of them began to walk towards the stairs with the blood stain when they noticed Barret and Red come from the door they had come out of less than a minute ago.

"Shit!" whispered Barret under his breath at the sight.

"This is just like the scene at the laboratory," commented Red in a disturbed voice, "Have you found out where John is?"

"…the footprints lead upstairs," said Aeris uncomfortably before continuing, "and so does the blood…"

"There's no time to waste," said Cloud as he withdrew his sword and tightened his grip on it.

Cloud led the team slowly upstairs with Tifa and Aeris following behind and Barret and Red going last, all with their weapons ready to fight. But when they reached the top of the stairs, the sight they found was shocking.

"T-the President," said Red, "He's dead."

At this time, Aeris looked over in the corner and nearly screamed at what she saw. There was John, but something was not right. His staff was right next to him with no blood whatsoever, but the same could not be said for him. Both of his hands had dried blood on them, the right one being red nearly up to the elbow. There was also blood on some parts of his face which looked like it had been smeared a bit.

"John!" she exclaimed, "There's blood on him."

The five members of AVALANCHE circled around their comrade who was still sitting on the ground with a horrified expression on his face, taking heavy breaths. He knew that everyone was there, but didn't say anything, not even raising his eyes. Nobody knew what to say. Should they yell at him for going off on his own? Ask how he was? Why there was blood on him? If he had seen who did this? Finally, Cloud knelt down and asked one question.

"…it was Sephiroth who did this, wasn't it?"

John slowly turned his head and locked eyes with Cloud, revealing his fear before slowly nodding. Cloud was ready to leave it there and get back up when John grabbed him and pulled him close and whispered so that only Cloud could hear.

"He knows Cloud…he knows…"

John's voice was so quiet and dark that Cloud felt a slight tinge of fear about the possible future before John let him go and Cloud pulled pack, never taking his eyes off of John's bloodied face. After a few quiet breaths, Cloud got up and extended a hand to John, who seemed to look at it for a few seconds before taking it with his bloody one and rising. When he was on his feet, he looked at the others before stopping on Aeris, who seemed to be trying to hide her fear. Doing the only thing he could, he gave a smile and tried to lift her spirits.

"See? I told you that you would see me when you got out of that cell."

Aeris tried to smile back, but found it hard to do so when she looked at his face which still showed fear from what he had seen; his voice sounded rather shaky as well.

"John…"

Before she could say anything else, Barret asked something which was on his mind.

"Why didn't you wake us up? We could have handled Sephiroth together."

John looked at Barret and seemed to be unable to say anything. Thankfully for him, Cloud spoke up.

"John must have had his reasons, but it was probably for the best. Trust me, there was no way for us to defeat Sephiroth if we encountered him here…"

_I'd like to know those reasons too…_ thought Cloud, _Why is Sephiroth linked to what's happening with John?_

At this time, Tifa walked over to the President's body and inspected it carefully, recalling the bodies of the Nibelheim villagers from five years ago.

"Yes, this does seem like a wound from the Masamune," she confirmed against her own will.

"But why was he here?" asked Aeris.

"He…," began John before pausing for a second, "He said that he wouldn't let them get the Promised Land, I was downstairs at the time and I heard him talking. He also got Jenova out and left with her."

"How did he leave?" asked Red, "he might still be in the building."

John simply shook his head in response before answering.

"He flew; he's probably out of Midgar right now."

There were a few silent seconds afterwards before Barret spoke up.

"So what does this mean then? Does it mean that the Promised Land exists and that Sephiroth is here to save it from the Shinra?"

"…I don't know exactly…" said Cloud uneasily.

"But if he is, then he's a good guy, right?" asked Barret.

"A good guy? No way," replied Cloud hastily, "Trust me, I know Sephiroth. His mission is different."

"…what do we do now?" asked Tifa.

Cloud opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of a helicopter outside.

"Damn, it's Rufus! Forgot about him!" exclaimed Barret in anger.

"Who?" asked Red.

"Vice President Rufus, the President's son," explained Barret as he watched the helicopter approach the building.

"…let's go see him," said Cloud as he walked out of the room to the balcony, followed closely by the others.

* * *

The helicopter properly aligned itself with the roof and Rufus stepped out. 

_So all of this is mine…_

He didn't have much time to ponder that though as a group of people and something which resembled a large cat came out of it and stood in front of him. Rufus however took his time and peered inside the building to see his father's dead body slumped over the desk with some blood on his back.

"Hmm…so Sephiroth was actually here," said Rufus to himself before turning to AVALANCHE, "By the way, who are you guys?"

"I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER first class."

"I'm from AVALANCHE," said Barret.

"Same here," continued Tifa.

"Here as well," said John, startling Rufus somewhat by his appearance.

"A flower girl from the slums," went Aeris.

"A research specimen," finished Red.

"What a crew," chuckled Rufus, "Well my name is Rufus and I am the President of Shinra, Inc."

"You only president 'cause your old man died!" exclaimed Barret.

"Ain't it the truth," continued Rufus, "Now then, I will let you hear my appointment speech. Old man tried to control the world with money and it seems to have been working. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If terrorists attack, then Shinra, Inc. will help you. It all seems perfect on the outside. However, few people can make that work and I'm not one of them. I will control this world and its people with fear. There's nothing like a little fear to get people moving, no need to waste money on them."

"He likes to make speeches like his father," commented Tifa.

"And you think that you'll be able to keep Shinra going for long with that strategy?" asked John, knowing what the outcome was likely to be.

"I believe so," said Rufus as he looked directly at John, "The world is already dependant on Shinra and Mako too much to stop now. My father had the power to do so much more and never took the chance. Fortunately, I won't make that same mistake."

"If you hurt the people too much, then they will stop trusting you," said John, "and Shinra will fall."

"Haha, you think I care about that?!" exclaimed Rufus, "Let them stop trusting Shinra, it's not like it will affect their actions. They will continue to do whatever we say just to keep their quaint little lives the way they are."

"Sounds like you've had this plan for quite a while," said John.

"Well, thank you for observing," said Rufus, "I knew that one day old man would die and I would take over. Looks like it turned out to be sooner rather than later. But its okay, I've been getting bored lately, so maybe I should be thanking Sephiroth for moving the schedule ahead, where is he anyway?"

"He's not here," said John, "He was actually standing where you are a while back."

"Oh was he?" asked Rufus, seeming to enjoy the conversation, "Well then, I guess it's a shame that I didn't arrive sooner."

"Why? So you could end up like your father?"

"You're right, I would have probably died," said Rufus while smiling, "Where would Shinra have gone then?"

"Enough!" exclaimed Cloud, "We don't have time for this. Barret, take Aeris and get out of this building."

"What about you?" asked the tall man.

"I'll get out after I take care of him. Trust me this is the real crisis of the planet."

"I'll stay with you," said John knowing that Rufus wouldn't be fighting alone, "You might need help."

Cloud looked at John before nodding rather reluctantly.

_He's been through so __much; I'm not sure how much more he can take. _

Barret, Tifa, Red and Aeris ran into the building with Aeris taking a second to look at John and Cloud and hope for their safety.

When they were gone Rufus looked over at John and continued, seeming to ignore Cloud.

"Well then, my question still stands. What do you think would have happened to Shinra if I had died here as well?"

John hesitated for about a second before tightening the grip on his staff and replying.

"…it probably wouldn't shut down. The others here would find a way to keep it going, just to fill their pockets."

Rufus smiled as he pulled out his shotgun.

"My father told me not too long ago that AVALANCHE was nothing but fistfights and explosions, no words whatsoever. However, it seems that he wasn't entirely correct."


	18. Chapter XVIII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to those who took the time to review.

Oooooooooookay, I finally managed to find enough time to finish this chapter. I wasn't looking forward to writing the battle scenes, so sorry if they seem a bit stale. I'll be leaving for about a week on Friday so the next update should come after I return, enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XVIII

While Cloud and John had remained on the balcony with Rufus, the rest of AVALANCHE made their way down the stairs, bypassing the fallen body of the former President of Shinra without a second glance. As they ran towards the door which would lead them out of the main hall which still contained the corpses of Sephiroth's victims, Tifa noticed that they were one more person short. She stopped and looked back to see Aeris standing at the bottom of the stairs, not moving an inch. The others stopped as well and waited while Tifa walked up to Aeris, knowing exactly what was on her mind.

"Aeris…"

"It doesn't feel right Tifa, leaving them up there," said Aeris with concern in her voice, "It's my fault that they're here to begin with. If I wasn't stupid enough to get captured, then they'd be helping the survivors of Sector Seven or something like that."

"Aeris, don't say that," said Tifa, "You did a very brave thing by giving yourself up and you protected Marlene by doing so. Neither I nor Barret will ever forget what you did for her. If it wasn't for you, she'd be buried underneath the plate like so many of the others."

Aeris' eyes widened, she hadn't expected such a response from Tifa. It did make her feel better about her current situation to an extent.

"But, Cloud…John…"

"They came here because they care about you, we all do," began Tifa, "And we're going to make sure that Shinra doesn't get their hands on you again. That's why Cloud and John are up there, they're buying time for you to get out of here. While Rufus is busy with them, he probably won't be able to give any orders or to warn the others that we're escaping. No matter what happens to them now, you can't let their efforts be in vain. Besides, I'm sure that they can take care of themselves."

Aeris was silent for about a moment before looking at Tifa with a look of determination in her eyes.

"You're right Tifa, I can't just sulk here. We have to use this opportunity. Let's go!"

"There we go, you guys go on ahead. I'll wait for Cloud and John here," said Tifa.

"Are you sure Tifa?" asked Aeris, "What if you get captured?"

"Don't worry about me; I don't think anyone will come up here for a while due to Sephiroth's _visit_. The important thing is that you get to safety, go!"

Aeris didn't need to hear another word and replied with only a short, but firm nod before heading off in the direction of the elevators with Barret and Red behind her.

"Wait!" called out Tifa, prompting the others to stop.

She took out the Ice and Lighting materias from her glove and threw them at Aeris.

"Catch! You might need them on the way down if you meet trouble."

"Thanks," replied Aeris before turning around and continuing on her way with Red and Barret, putting the materias in her staff as she ran.

Once they were out of sight, Tifa turned around and looked at the stairs with a worried expression on her face. She was sharing Aeris's worries more than she had let on.

_You guys better get out alive…  
_

* * *

Meanwhile, the three men stood outside on the highest floor of Shinra Headquarters, weapons drawn. Rufus looked from John to Cloud and then back to John before smiling. 

"Two on one, that's not exactly fair, is it? Let's even out the odds a little bit," he said coyly as he looked up at his helicopter.

_Damn it, Dark Nation! _remembered John.

"Cloud, watch out! He's got company!"

John and Cloud looked up just in time to see a black creature jump out of the helicopter and land next to Rufus. It looked similar to the Guard Hounds that they had faced in the rectors, but it was much larger. Less than a second after it had landed, they noticed its tentacle starting to glow as a white shell encircled Rufus and he took on a light white glow.

"Ugh, that's a Barrier spell," said Cloud in annoyance.

The defensive spell turned out to be the least of Cloud's problems as the creature jumped at him just as the spell had finished, giving Cloud only about a second to jump out of the way. Dark Nation wasted no time afterwards in launching a bolt spell which Cloud narrowly avoided, only to be hit by the creature's tentacle.

"Cloud!" yelled John as he turned to help him before he was stopped by a bullet at his feet.

"And where do you think you're going? You still have me to deal with," smiled Rufus as John turned to face him, eyes still on Cloud.

Cloud at the time was lucky enough to see the creature leaping at him and was able to kick it away. John looked at Dark Nation which seemed to be preparing to cast a spell and reached into his pocket.

"Cloud, catch!" yelled John as he threw an object at him.

Cloud caught the projectile with ease and looked to see that it was a blue materia.

_This is…the elemental materia._

Looking over at John, he gave a smile as he realized why he had given him this. Wasting no time, he quickly put the materia in his Mythril Armlet and moved the Lightning materia from his sword to the armlet as well.

"All right, let's see what you got," said Cloud with confidence as he made an X with is arms across his chest to shield himself from the upcoming attack.

Dark nation let out a growl as he launched a bolt from his tentacle at Cloud. The attack made a direct hit, but it did nothing more than redden his forearms as the blue materia in his armlet glowed. Once the spell was finished, Cloud lowered his arms and brought his sword in front of him, ready to attack. John had smiled as he had watched these events happen before turning his gaze back onto Rufus.

"Impressive," said the new President of Shinra, "but very foolish."

"What?" asked John, slightly confused.

"While you were busy watching your friend against Dark Nation, I could have easily put a bullet into your skull, especially when you let yourself by completely vulnerable when you passed that materia to him."

"In that case, why didn't you use the opportunity?" asked John as he continued to smile.

"Good question, it would have been one less problem for me if you were dead right now. But I guess I feel like having a bit of a challenge right now."

John didn't reply and tightened his grip on his staff as Rufus's smile widened.

"Besides, it seems like it would be a shame for someone as…interesting as you to be taken down so easily."

John couldn't help but give a little grin as he replied.

"Well then, thanks for the complement, but I don't plan on losing to you."

"Excellent then, let's go!" exclaimed Rufus as he charged at John, surprising him.

Rufus attempted to bring his shotgun down on John's face, but John was quick enough to guard with his staff, meeting the gun a healthy distance above him. But this defensive tactic had left John open to an attack, which Rufus used to his advantage as he kneed John in the stomach. As John staggered slightly back from the unexpected pain, Rufus delivered a quick kick to his chest, sending him falling back and hitting the ground just short of the railing.

_Dammit, I've got to watch myself!_

As John slowly got up, he noticed that Rufus was not using this to his advantage as he merely stood at the same place where he was when he had knocked him back.

_He's not trying to use my weaknesses to his advantage, why?_

"So then, while you're taking a little breather, how about we continue our talk from before?"

"…your father was never interested in having any words with us other than delivering a speech on how important he was or how annoying we were," said John after a slight pause.

"Well, that was my father and not me. Don't think that we were very similar just because we were related. We both see where my father's ways ended getting him up and trust me, I don't plan on meeting my end the same way that he did."

At that time, John had a little mental image of Diamond WEAPON's attack on this building in the future and its…consequences and had to keep himself from giving a slight smile as Rufus continued.

"Besides, I'm not really interested in having any words with AVALANCHE, just you."

John had to resist raising his eyebrow as he asked a question.

"And why is that?"

"You seem to be more…interesting than the rest of them."

"Are you sure that it isn't the fact that I'm covered in blood that intrigues you?" asked John with a smirk.

"Yes, I'm sure," replied Rufus with a chuckle, "but do tell. Whose blood is that? No offense, but given your defensive choices, you don't seem like someone who is capable of causing mass carnage with your bare hands."

"Well, it isn't the blood of a person I've killed. It's one of Sephiroth's victims. Why don't you go down to the cells later and have a look around? You should be able to understand everything then."

"I'll keep a note of that," said Rufus before continuing, "You know, it amazed me just how young most of you AVALANCHE people are. Tell me, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty,"

"Well, that is quite young to be such a big part of an organization like AVALANCHE, isn't it?"

"Maybe, but like you said, most of us are around the same age. What about you? You seem pretty young to be President of Shinra."

"I'm only three years older than you, but remember, I didn't exactly choose to be made president tonight. That only happened because my father kicked the bucket."

"Doesn't sound like you're too sad about that happening," observed John.

"I'm not; he was not a really good father to tell you the truth. He was a much better president, although look at how that ended," added Rufus with a smile.

"Well then," began John as he got his staff ready, "let's see where your presidency will lead you."

Throughout this whole talk, the battle between Cloud and Dark Nation had raged on, with Cloud now getting the upper hand and managing to inflict several wounds upon the beast, whose most powerful attack was no longer effective due to Cloud's materia combination. The creature growled in frustration as it barely managed to avoid Cloud's slash by jumping back. Cloud was no longer worried about losing to Dark Nation as he was emerging as the clear victor, but he had noticed how things were going between Rufus and John.

_What the- what's going on? Why are they talking? You'd think that they__ were best friends or something._

* * *

During this time, Aeris, Barret and Red had managed to reach the elevator with ease and were on their way to the first floor when Aeris started to feel uneasy. 

"Hm? What's that sound?" she asked.

"What? What are you talking about?" asked Barret, not hearing anything.

"From over there," replied Aeris, pointing to the direction of the other elevator.

Barret concentrated on his ears and did start to pick up something.

_Hmm…sounds like some sort of whirring… Like a machine or-_

"GET DOWN!" yelled Barred as he launched himself at Aeris and Red and held them down to the floor of the elevator as the sound of bullets fired erupted just above them and the glass which protected them gave away and fell to the ground.

"What was that?!" exclaimed Red as he got out of Barret's grasp to see the other elevator coming down.

Aeris and Barret got up on their feet in time to see that across from them stood a massive machine on wheels, with several guns aimed squarely at them.

"Dammit, defense mechanisms!" exclaimed Barret.

"What do we do?" asked Aeris.

"We can't hit it with our weapons," said Red in frustration.

"Maybe you can't," said Barret as he pointed his gun arm at the Hundred Gunner, "but I CAN!"

With that Barret released a round of bullets at the machine. The bullets appeared to do some damage, but the Hundred Gunner did not move.

"Ugh! It's not doing much!"

"Wait, let me try," said Aeris as she stepped up in front of Barret and held out her staff, "shoot the guns Barret!"

_Tifa, you're a life saver._

Aeris concentrated on the Lighting materia in her staff while Barret was busy firing at the Hundred Gunner's side weapons so that Aeris would not be shot and a bolt shot out of Aeris's staff and made a direct hit on the Hundred Gunner, which seemed to slide back a tiny bit.

"Did it work?" asked Barret.

"Seems so," said Red before taking notice of what the Hundred Gunner was doing, "wait, it seems to be changing its strategy!"

The team watch as the upper part of the Hundred Gunner shifted and a cannon was formed at its front.

"If that thing hits us, we're history!" exclaimed Barret before looking over to his left at the flower girl, "Aeris, continue firing the spells. If we're quick, we might be able to stop him before firing.

"Got it."

The next minute or so consisted of Aeris hastily firing bolt after bolt while Barret continued his onslaught of bullets with Red casting fireballs whenever he saw the opportunity. By the end, the Hundred Gunner looked to be severely damaged, but still functioning, while Aeris was leaning on her staff and breathing heavily.

"Ugh, I c-can't cast anymore. It's too much!" she exclaimed as sweat drops fell from her forehead to the elevator floor.

Barret looked to see the opening of the cannon starting to glow yellow before cursing and reaching into his pocket, pulling out an ether.

"Aeris here, drink this," he said as he held the vial of colored fluid to her mouth.

Aeris was quick to take hold of the vial and gulped down the fluid instantly before going back to leaning on her staff, he senses slowly regaining their potential.

"Thanks Barret," she said as she stood on her feet once more, "let's try this again."

Aeris walked close to the edge of the elevator and held out her hands in front of her, her staff held tightly with the ends to her sides. She started to concentrate and the lightning materia started to glow as a ball which seemed to be made of electricity slowly appeared in front of her. Concentrating even more, she released her staff, but instead of dropping, it stayed suspended in mid-air. Aeris then continued by bringing her hands closer to her chest before raising them above her head. To Barret and Red's surprise, it seemed that Aeris herself was lightly levitating as well, her feet slowly rising about half a meter from the ground. Not wasting any further time, Aeris quickly shot her hands forward and sent the lightning ball flying towards the Hundred Gunner, who was a second away from firing his beam cannon. In what seemed like an instant, the spell collided with the beam just as it was released from the cannon, resulting in a massive explosion which sent Aeris flying back; she would have fallen off the elevator had Barret not caught her in time. Barret and Red had to stand tough on their feet to not be knocked off themselves. When the light cleared, the three of them looked ahead to notice that there was no trace left of the Hundred Gunner or the floor which he had been standing on.

_Amazing! _thought Red as he looked at Aeris, _Grandpa told me that the Cetra were powerful when it came to spells, but even he would have been surprised by that!_

"That's it, right?" asked Aeris as she got on her feet.

_That spell took a lot out of me; I didn't even know that I could do that!_

Red was about reply with a positive answer when he caught sight of something out of his eye.

"No, looks like there's another one coming from above."

* * *

On the outskirts of Midgar, two figures were walking at their own reasonable pace when they heard a loud explosion behind them. Turning around, they were in time to see an explosion outside the Shinra building. 

"Impressive," said Jenova before looking over at Sephiroth, "it seems like it has started."

"Yes," replied Sephiroth calmly.

"Do you think that it was Cloud who caused that explosion?"

"No, he does not possess that degree of power when it comes to materia or magic, it must have been one of his "friends.""

"I did not expect them to have this much strength at their disposal at this point," said the alien creature.

"Neither did I. All the more reason for us to hurry," said Sephiroth before turning around and continuing in the direction of Kalm.

_Why should I worry? My blade can cut them all down at any point, but if I did, I would also destroy the beauty of the plan.__ Besides, I am rather anxious to see Cloud's followers and what they're capable of. If they can do what I just saw, then they certainly are a special bunch._

"Agreed," said Jenova before following him.

_I've seen that degree of__ natural magic power before, a long time ago… It's THEM! The Cetra!_

* * *

On top of the Shinra Headquarters building, the shockwaves from the explosion caused Dark Nation to lose its balance and fall over. Taking this chance, Cloud rushed over and unleashed a Braver attack, splitting the beast in two. 

"What was that?" asked John as he drew back from Rufus, who was still shielded by the Barrier spell.

"It was probably the others," replied Cloud, "I hope they're okay."

"So my father's defense mechanisms have failed, what a surprise," said Rufus with sarcasm.

As soon as he had finished saying that, the defensive spell which had protected him finally came off and his glow faded.

"Seems that your defense is gone as well," said John before lunging at Rufus, his staff ready to strike.

John raised his staff high to the side and thrust it downwards as he got close to Rufus, who managed to move to the side just in time to avoid it, leaving the staff lodged in the ground. Holding on to the staff, John used Rufus's surprise to his advantage as he delivered a kick to his side and then followed it up by jumping up high using his staff for support and delivering a second kick to the side of Rufus's face, sending him tumbling to the side.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down there Rufus," said John with a smile as he removed his staff from the ground, revealing a deep mark in the floor.

"Yes well, consider yourself to be lucky today," said Rufus with a smirk before looking over at Cloud, "you too."

With that, Rufus snapped his fingers and the helicopter above him came down. He grabbed on to the bar and was quickly raised to safety, hanging above Cloud and John.

"Ugh, damn you!" exclaimed Cloud as he gripped his sword in anger while John simply stared upwards.

"Well then, I think it's time for me to take my leave gentlemen. I wish you all the best in trying to get away from here. But even if you don't, I'm sure we can find some use for you," said Rufus with a devious glow in his eyes.

"One more thing," said Rufus looking at John as he and Cloud were preparing to leave, "What's your name?"

John waited for a few seconds before looking Rufus in the eye and replying.

"It's John, John Reeds."

"Well then John, 'till we meet again," were the last words that Rufus spoke before his plane flew away from the structure to get him to safety on one of the buildings in the city of Sector Six.

"Let's go Cloud," said John after an awkward silence.

"Yeah, the others should be waiting for us."

They started off in the direction of the door when Cloud suddenly stopped and remembered something.

"That thing you said…about Sephiroth "knowing…""

John tensed for a second before looking over at Cloud and replying.

"We can talk about that after we get out."

Cloud nodded slowly in understanding before they entered the building and headed down the stairs. At the bottom, they found a very relieved Tifa waiting for them.

"There you are. What happened? Where's Rufus?"

"He got away," said Cloud with a bit of regret, "looks like it's going to get complicated."

"What about that explosion?"

"It must have been Aeris and the others," said John, "Are they on their way down?"

"Yeah, they went to the elevators."

_So it must have been either the Hundred Gunner or the Heli Gunner_ thought John.

"Then they probably reached the bottom by now," said John, "We can't leave them for too long, the soldiers will be too much for them."

"But how are we going to get out of the building?" asked Tifa.

At that moment, a light bulb appeared to turn on in Cloud's head.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed as he ran off in the direction of the stairs with Tifa and John behind him.

"What is it?" asked Tifa anxiously.

"When we came in, there was a blue car on display on the first floor, you two go down there and get in it with the others."

"What will you do?" asked John, already knowing what Cloud had in mind.

"You'll see," said Cloud with a smirk, "I'm going to guard you guys while you get away."

_That motorcycle on the floor above better have a lot of fuel!_

* * *

Back on the elevator, Aeris, Barred and Red stared as the small Heli Gunner descended from above and stopped to hover where the Hundred Gunner and the other elevator had previously been. 

"Okay then, I'll give this guy the same treatment," said Aeris as she extended her staff.

In about a second, a lightning bolt flew out of the tip of her staff, but to her surprise the Heli Gunner avoided it with ease and began to fly towards her.

"What the-"

Aeris had no time to finish as she was tackled by the tiny robot and knocked down. Red was quick to knock the flying machine away with a slash before it flew upwards again and started to dodge Barret's bullets.

"Ugh, it's too fast!" yelled Barret before the robot tackled him like he did Aeris, although Barret managed to stay on his feet.

Aeris swung her staff at the robot and managed to make contact, cutting some of its visible wires before the Heli Gunner started spinning and flew at her, hitting her hard and nearly sending her off the platform. Red tried to protect Aeris by jumping at the robot, but it rapidly spun and knocked him sideways and off of the elevator, leaving him barely hanging on by his front paws.

"RED!!!" exclaimed Aeris as she rushed towards him and started to slowly pull him up by his front paws.

This had however left her completely vulnerable and the Heli Gunner had taken notice of this and flew above her, preparing to strike her down with his drill. Barret noticed this and knew that he had to act fast as he extended his gun arm and began to quickly charge a Big Shot attack. The Heli Gunner rapidly moved down and was just about to pierce Aeris's dress when the blast hit it and carried it off into the near distance before exploding, destroying the Heli Gunner entirely.

"That was close," said Barret as he went over to help Aeris raise Red back onto the platform.

"Thanks," said Aeris with a smile.

"Don't mention it, you okay Red?"

"I'm fine, we better get ready. We'll be at the bottom soon."

_That was __close; I need to be more careful. The Cetra girl…she tried to save me even though it nearly got her killed._

"Hey…thanks," said Red, feeling a little uneasy.

"Don't mention it," replied Aeris simply while smiling.

* * *

In less than a minute after the encounter with the Heli Gunner, the elevator had reached its destination and the three of them stepped off the platform and headed towards the doors. 

"All right," said Barret as he raised his gun arm, "stand back, I'll go see how much trouble we got."

With that he rushed outside to find his eyes widening at the sight. The sea of Shinra soldiers seemed to be nearly never ending and nearly all of them had machine guns pointed squarely at him. Slowly, he took several steps back into the building, lowering his gun arm once he had reached Aeris and Red.

"Dammit, there's too many of them. If I was alone, this wouldn't be a problem, but I've got a reputation to protect…"

At this point Aeris walked forward with a suggestion.

"Look, it's me that they're after. You can escape if I give myself up."

"And there's no way that that's gonna happen. You got yourself into this over Marlene and now I'm going to protect you."

"Thanks, Mr. Barret," said Aeris with a light giggle.

Barret blushed before speaking again.

"Don't call me mister, makes me sound old or sumthin'"

"Hey, you made it!" came a female voice from behind them.

Aeris, Barret and Red looked behind them to see Tifa and John running down the stairs.

"John, you're safe!" exclaimed Aeris with delight, "Where's Cloud?"

"He'll be here soon," replied John as he panted, trying to regain his energy, "Hurry! This way! You'll understand soon."

John and Tifa started to walk towards a stand which had a blue car on it with space on the back, the others following behind. Tifa stepped into the driver's seat while John got on the back.

"Come on! Aeris, you get in the seat next to Tifa and Barret and Red will be back here with me."

_Here's hoping that no one falls out…_

Once everyone was in their place, Tifa started to drive the car off the stand and up the stairs. John tightened his grip on his staff so that it wouldn't fall out of his hand. After the stairs, the ride seemed smooth for a few seconds when John saw Cloud coming down the other set of stairs on a motorcycle.

"Ready?" he asked as he stopped in front of the car.

With resounding nods from all five of his teammates, Cloud waited as Tifa drove the car ahead and followed behind.

_All right, here goes nothing! _thought Tifa as she drove the car through a window and landed on to the highway.

Cloud followed right behind and the Shinra soldiers wasted no time in getting on their motorcycles and going after them in hot pursuit.

_Let's see if my plan works…_ thought Cloud as he withdrew his sword and held it to his side, ready to attack when needed.

* * *

On top of a building in Sector Six, Rufus Shinra stood near the edge with a clear view of the entire highway. 

_This should be interesting!_


	19. Chapter XIX

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As I have said before, thanks to all of the readers and a special thanks to all of the reviewers.

Well, I managed to get done with this chapter really fast, so enjoy! Apparently, my flight is on Saturday and not on Friday, so I had some free time today.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XIX

John sat on the back of the car, using one hand to cling onto his staff and the other to hold the side so that he wouldn't be thrown out. He kept his eyes on Cloud who was trailing behind them and looking over his shoulder at the Shinra soldiers. There were three yellow ones and two red ones from what he could see. The yellow ones started to advance forward at a faster speed than the red ones and went straight for Cloud, who was quick to raise his sword. Moving to the right as he brought it down, he was able to make a clear cut across one of the yellow riders and sent them falling off of their motorcycle. However, this had left his right side open and before he could look over, he felt a force from that side as he was rammed by one of the other yellow riders. Quickly raising his sword, Cloud was able to strike fast and deliver a blow to the face of the rider, causing his blood to obstruct his vision which resulted in him falling off of his motorcycle like his ally before him. Looking forward after that, Cloud noticed the remaining yellow rider heading for the truck and sped up to catch up to him. He was successful in that effort and with a quick slash sent the last rider off of his vehicle.

"Cloud, behind you!" yelled John from the back of the truck-

Cloud looked behind him to see one of the red riders coming directly at him and slowed down to get closer to him. But what he did not expect was that the red rider would slow down as well to lead Cloud after him and away from the truck. Cloud fell for the trap and followed the red rider close to the edge of the highway, ramming him against the side and then delivering a hard punch which sent the red rider over the edge.

_That takes care of him, now where's the other one?_

Cloud looked ahead to get his answer and realized what the red rider which he had just disposed of had done. He had planned to get him away from the truck while the other one went in for the attack. Seeing the other red rider ramming the truck from the left as Tifa tired to keep control of the wheel, Cloud rapidly sped up to try to reach the truck in time. He would not be the one who disposed of the red rider, as John managed to reach over the edge of the truck and thrush his staff forward, piercing the rider's shoulder and sending him off his motorcycle as soon as the tip of the staff was pulled out.

"Are you okay?" asked Cloud as he got within hearing distance of the truck.

"Yeah," replied John before looking beyond Cloud, "looks like we've got a lot more coming."

* * *

Standing on top of a building in Sector Six, Rufus was getting a very good view of the events on the highway. 

_Looks like they'll dispose of all the soldiers with ease…_

Giving a short sigh, Rufus removed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number on speed dial.

_I guess I should let everyone at headquarters know what's going on here. After all, I am their boss now…_

"Hello, Tseng? It's me," said Rufus calmly.

After a flurry of question from the other side asking him about his whereabouts and status, Rufus gave reply.

"I'm fine, I came to headquarters, but I had to leave momentarily because of the intruders. For your information Tseng, they're on the highway at this moment attempting a getaway, and doing a very good job at it I might add. Something I cannot say about the soldiers attempting to stop them."

"Give me that phone!" came a female voice from the other side.

Following a short pause, the voice was heard again, this time clearer.

"Mr. President?"

"Hello Scarlet, how are you?" asked Rufus.

"I'm as well as I can be under the circumstances Mr. President, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't worry about me Scarlet; it was not that big of a loss anyway."

"All right then Mr. President. Don't worry about the intruders; I'll take care of them. Which way are they heading?"

"They seem to heading for the edge of Sector Five."

"Hmm…all right, I have an idea."

"In that case Scarlet, I leave it up to you."

"Thank you Mr. President," said Scarlet before hanging up the phone.

_Let's see what she has up her sleeve…_ thought Rufus as he put the phone back in his pocket.

* * *

"Scarlet hey, give me my phone back!" ordered Tseng in frustration as Scarlet started to dial another number after finishing her talk with Rufus. 

"Tseng, it's your fault that we have to chase them in the first place. If you guys had paid more attention to them, then they wouldn't have gotten away. Hojo's going to be pissed as hell when he hears that the Ancient girl has escaped and we're never going to hear the end of it from that crackpot. So the least that you can do is accept a slightly bigger phone bill this month, okay?" accused Scarlet as she finished dialing the number and waited for the person on the other side to pick up.

"Hello? Yeah, it's me. How is the chase going? Don't lie to me; I know that they're beating your soldiers without a problem. Listen. Hey, shut up and listen!" yelled Scarlet in annoyance.

"Send the Motor Ball after them. I don't care if it hasn't been tested yet, there's no time. Got it? All right, report to me later with the results," finished Scarlet as she hung up and threw the phone at Tseng, who barely managed to catch it.

"What's the Motor Ball?" asked Tseng as he put his phone back in his pocket, "When did you come up with it?"

"It's a machine designed to take care of enemies on the road. I came up with it in the past few months. I know you don't have a lot of time between killing people and "trying" to catch the Ancient," said Scarlet while making air quotes, "but it wouldn't hurt to look at how the rest of the company is doing."

Tseng sat still in slight shock as Scarlet continued to speak.

"Look, I know that you don't want that girl to get hurt, but you don't know what Hojo might do if he does not get her soon. You're lucky than nobody has suggested that you be taken off the assignment."

"…and I thank you for that Scarlet. But for now, how about you do your job and I do mine okay?" said Tseng as he slightly relaxed upon remembering something.

_Rufus and his father never seemed to agree on the importance of the Ancients in finding a place to build Neo Midgar, maybe Aeris will be safer with him in power…_

* * *

At that moment however, it did not seem that Aeris was safe at all as two yellow riders had somehow managed to get past Cloud, who was currently preoccupied with two red riders which kept dodging his sword, continued to ram the truck from both sides. 

"Aargh, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep this thing on the road!" cried Tifa, "I could use some help here you guys!"

"I'm trying Tifa, I'm trying!" yelled John as he tried to score a hit in with his staff, but the rider kept dodging it.

"Stand aside John!" said Barret as he aimed his gun arm and started shooting.

"Careful Barret, don't hit the tires!" yelled Tifa.

"Ugh!" yelled Barret before one of the bullets managed to hit one of the tires of the yellow rider's motorcycle and sent him falling down, "There we go!"

Aeris at this time was dealing with problems on her own as her side kept getting rammed with no ending in sight.

_I've got to do something!_

With that thought in mind, she let down the window to her side.

"Aeris, what are you doing?!" exclaimed Tifa in shock, "Don't go out there!"

"Keep driving Tifa, I'll try to get this guy off our backs," said Aeris as she stuck her head and hand with the fire materia in the bangle outside the window.

Concentrating on the materia, she launched a fireball at the rider, but missed as he moved to the left out of its way and started to close in. Waiting until he was close enough, she launched another fireball which made a direct hit and the rider was sent flying off of his motorcycle.

"All right!" exclaimed Aeris happily as she sat back down and looked over at Tifa, "See?"

"He he, good job," said Tifa with a smile.

"Are we close to the end?" asked Aeris.

"We should be there in about a minute or so, let's hope Cloud can hold the soldiers off until then."

Cloud had managed to take care of the two pesky red riders, thankful that Barret and Aeris had been able to take care of the ones which had slipped past him. But as he looked over his shoulder, he saw about ten more and started to worry.

_There's no way that I'll be able to hold all of them off._

John in the meantime had been impressed by Aeris's choice to use magic and it had given him an idea. Picking up his staff and moving to the back of the truck towards the edge, he began to shout.

"Cloud! Get over here, I've have a plan!"

Knowing that any plan was better than none, Cloud did as John said and sped up until he was in front of him.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Get to the side, I'll try to use magic to knock them off of their bikes, and get ready."

"Get ready? For what?"

"You can't see far from there, but they're sending something big after us. It's getting closer, so warn Aeris and Tifa."

"Got it," said Cloud before driving up to Aeris's window.

"Cloud, did you take care of the soldiers?"

"John has a plan to get them off of our backs. You two get ready; they're not letting us go easily so we'll have to fight some machine."

"A machine?" asked Tifa as she checked the rearview mirror before getting an alarmed expression on her face, "That's not "some machine," it looks like it's going to run us over. We have to find a way to stop it before we attack. Aeris, put the Ice materia from your staff into my glove, I have an idea."

While Aeris complied, John raised his staff in the back of the truck and concentrated on his ice materia to make several crystal projectiles, one for every cyclist in front of him. To his surprise, it did not take as much effort as he believed to create them and get them to float in front of him.

_Wow, guess I have a bit of a knack for this magic stuff. Okay then, let's see if this wor__ks._

Concentrating further, John launched the projectiles and to his luck, they all hit their targets and the soldiers fell off their motorcycles without much of a struggle due to the force of the impact.

"I did it!" exclaimed John with pride, "Okay guys, the soldiers are taken care of, now we just need to destroy that machine."

By this point, Tifa clearly saw the end and put on the brakes. It took the car about five seconds to stop a healthy distance from the edge on an upward incline and she and Aeris got out of the car while Cloud hopped off of his motorcycle and the rest jumped off the back of the truck, ready to fight.

"What do we do now?" asked Red, "It'll crush us when it gets here."

"Leave that to me," said Tifa as she walked forward and extended her right hand. Although she much better trained for hand to hand combat, she had decent skills with materia when needed.

_Maybe I should have paid more attention to Zangan when he gave lessons on materia, although he wasn't an expert by any means…_

Concentrating hard, Tifa created tiny projectiles which shot towards the ground in front of front of Motor Ball and turned it into ice. The Motor Ball was unable to sense the change in his surroundings and continued forward, but as the ground started to curve upwards, it noticed that it was unable to progress further and started to slide backwards. As it was moving down, it put on its brakes and changed shape, bringing its head above for a better view.

"All right, you did it Tifa!" complemented Barret, "now what?"

"Hmm…it shouldn't be able to reach us up here with the ice in its path," commented Red.

John however, knew that that was not true and within a matter of second, the Motor Ball lowered its front body and flames were released, melting the ice rapidly.

"Oh great, now what?" asked Cloud as he tightened his grip on his sword.

"Let's use magic," suggested John, "the more we damage it before it gets close, the easier it will be to defeat it with our weapons."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Cloud as he extended his hand and shot a bolt which made a direct hit on the Motor Ball.

Tifa was next to follow by launching ice projectiles, which were soon joined by John's. Aeris was next who started to fire off bolt after bolt at a rapid pace at the Motor Ball. Red continued the onslaught by launching fireballs and Barret joined in as well with fireballs of his own. As the attack continued, the Motor Ball began to slowly move back.

"It's trying to retreat, go after it!" yelled Barret.

Understanding the command, all six of the warriors slowly started to move forwards step by step, never stopping their barrage even as fatigue too over them from using so much magic. Barret was the first to stop casting due to his lack of training with materia and the others stopped very soon afterwards at a steady pace as well, with Aeris finishing last due to the extra endurance which came from her Cetra blood. After they were done, they all stood panting from fatigue, waiting for the smoke to clear to see their results.

"You think we got it?" asked John.

It turned out that the Motor Ball was going to get them because as soon as John finished asking the question, the machine dashed out of the smoke on its wheels and started to rapidly circle around the group, tossing out fire at them as it went along. John felt burns appear across his skin as the flames stung him over and over again, as did the rest of the team. When the Motor Ball's attack was finally over, Barret, Red, and Aeris had fallen on the ground from the pain, while Tifa, Cloud and John were barely standing on their feet.

"What…do we do now?" asked Tifa, feeling immense pain from the burns as her mouth moved.

"Ugh…give me a sec," said John as he slowly raised his staff and concentrated on the Restore and All materias in it.

A warm green light started to slowly surround the group and their burns slowly disappeared and Aeris, Barret and Red got back up.

"Thanks," said Aeris as she walked up to stand beside John.

"We have to attack it before it does THAT again!" commented Cloud as the Motor Ball seemed to stand still for the moment from its damages which the group now saw for the first time.

It seemed that the spells had taken a serious toll on him. His front armor was gone, as were two of its wheels. Part of its head was gone as well, which meant that it could not navigate as well as it could before or aim as well.

_If he had been in top form, then that attack would have probably killed us! _realized Tifa.

"Leave that to me," said Red as a blue light began to surround him.

It what seemed like a second, Red dashed forward and jumped onto the Motor Ball, sinking his teeth into its side. To everyone's surprise, his teeth managed to cut through the metal and rip a significant part out of it before Red jumped back beside them. When they looked at the results of Red's attack, they saw that sparks were coming out from where a chunk of metal had previously been.

"Now we have a weak spot to target," said Red calmly.

_Amazing, _thought John as he stared at the injured machine, _I knew that the Sled Fang technique was powerful, but not powerful enough for him to rip through metal!_

"Then let's not waste our chance!" exclaimed Cloud as he tightened his grip on his sword and charged forward, with John and Tifa following close behind.

Cloud tried to jump to deliver an attack to its injured side, but the Motor Ball was still functioning well enough to spin around and deliver a cut to Cloud's arm as he was in mid air, knocking him back. This however, gave John the opportunity to sneak underneath the motor Ball's arm to thrust his staff into the part that Red had damaged, causing the Motor Ball to begin sending sparks from other areas on its upper half and raise its arms, leaving it vulnerable. Tifa used this to her advantage as she jumped up and delivered a strong kick, to what was left of its head, sending it flying off. During this time, Aeris had healed Cloud's wound and had run up closer to John and Tifa as the Motor Ball attempted to continue moving. Aeris extended her staff and launched a lightning bolt which hit exactly where Red had ripped off its armor.

"Everyone get back!!!" yelled Tifa as she turned around.

Retreating to a safe distance, the group watched as the Motor Ball started to twitch and send off sparks from all sides before it exploded.

"Is it gone?" asked Barret.

"…yes," replied Red.

After a long period of silence, the first bits of the sunrise were seen and Barret spoke again.

"Well, what do we do now?"

"Sephiroth is alive," said Cloud as he walked over to the edge, "I-I have to settle the score."

"And that'll save the planet?" asked Barret.

"Seems like it."

"It's settled then, I'm going."

"I'll go too," said Aeris as she started walking closer to the edge, "I have things that I want to find out."

"About the Ancients?" asked Cloud.

"…many things," came the reply.

"I'm coming too," said John as he walked forward as well, "I have several things that I need to know and do as well."

John looked over at Aeris and was instantly reminded of what he had promised himself to do.

_Aeris…_

"I guess this is good bye then Midgar," said Tifa as she took one last look at the city.

"There's a crane and rope here," said Cloud, "we can use this to get down."

* * *

Rufus Shinra sighed as he watched the small figures slowly disappear as they climbed down. 

_Oh well, I guess it couldn't be helped_he thought as he got into his helicopter and took out his cell phone.

"Let's head back to headquarters," he said as he dialed Tseng's number on speed dial.

"Hello, Tseng? They got away. I'm coming back. Meet me on the roof," was all he said before he hung up.

* * *

"Understood Mr. President," said Tseng before putting his cell phone in his pocket and looking over at Scarlet. 

"What is it, Tseng?" she asked.

"Your machine failed Scarlet, they got away."

"What? You mean…Motor Ball was…" she began in slight shock.

"Destroyed. Everyone get ready, you'll be going up to see the new president soon. I'll go first, so stay here," said Tseng before getting up and heading for the stairs.

After a few moments, Scarlet leaned against her hand and let out an annoyed growl as she realized something.

"Oh great, we'll have to explain this to Hojo when he wakes up…"

Reno swore as he looked down at the table.

"I can't believe that old coot missed everything, man is he going to go insane…"

Trying to take his mind off of that, he looked over at the newest addition to the Turks.

"Elena, we're going to get you a suit later today, all right?"

"Sure…" came the reply with a quiet nod.

_Wow, I never imagined I would become a Turk when this much was happening…_

"Hey, don't worry," said Rude, speaking for the first time in a while, "We're going to look out for you Elena."

"Thanks…" she said with a weak smile.

* * *

As the sun prepared to rise above Kalm, two figures approached the small town. 

"Hmm…it will become inconvenient for us if you are sighted Mother," said Sephiroth as he looked over at Jenova.

"Agreed," was the creature's reply, "Nothing to worry about though, I have an idea."

With that, Jenova started to glow a bright blue color before she started shrinking and changing shape. When everything was done, Sephiroth looked down to find something resembling a purple tentacle on the ground.

_Do you hear me Sephiroth? _came a voice in his head.

_Yes, _he replied mentally.

_Excellent, then, we should be able to travel without much trouble this way then._

_True, although most people think I'm dead,_ replied Sephiroth as he picked up the tentacle and put it inside his coat.

_Either way, they shouldn't cause you any trouble._

_No, they shouldn't…_thought Sephiroth as he headed for the town.

_I have some free time before Cloud and his friends come close to this town, it couldn't hurt to look around a bit…_

* * *

Outside the gates to Sector Five, what was left of AVALANCHE quietly came down a rope one by one and stood on the ground, looking out into the distance. Nobody said anything for a while until Barret spoke up. 

"We'll need a group leader for our journey. 'Course that could only be me," he said with confidence.

"Are you sure?" asked Tifa with some doubt.

Before Barret could reply, Aeris walked up to Cloud and started to speak.

"It would have to be Cloud," she said with a mile.

"Yeah, can't be anyone else," said John with a smile as well.

"Hold up, why am I leader?" asked Cloud.

"Because it has to be you," said Aeris, "simple as that."

"I agree," said Tifa, now with a smile to match John and Aeris.

Barret seemed to be grumbling something, so Cloud looked over at Red for some support.

"Don't look at me. I'm only coming with you guys until my hometown, so my opinion shouldn't matter. Besides, we just met and I don't know all of you very well."

"It's settled then," chimed Aeris, "Cloud is the leader."

"…Awright!" exclaimed Barret in slight annoyance, although secretly he was glad that Cloud would be leading instead of him.

_It's better this way, look where my leadership led Sector Seven, along with Biggs, Wedge and Jessie…_

"Go northeast to a town called Kalm, if anything happens, we'll meet up there."

"Okay," said Cloud.

"We can't have six people strolling down the fields this close to Midgar, so split us up into two groups. One can go now; the other will follow after a few hours."

"Hmm, all right," said Cloud as he began to think about who went where.

_Well, Barret can lead one party and I can lead the other, but who g__oes where? Red seems to want to leave this place as soon as possible, so he can go first with Barret. I need to speak with John about Sephiroth, so he stays with me. Now then, about the girls…Tifa is more able to hold her own in battle when it comes to physical combat, so she can manage going ahead. Aeris seems to be less of a fighter, so it's best if she stays with me._

"Okay, Barret, take Red and Tifa and head for Kalm. Me, John and Aeris will start off after a few hours and meet you guys either later today or tomorrow morning at Kalm."

"Hmm…all right, see you guys at Kalm then," said Barret as he set off, "Let's go, you two."

"Bye," said Red simply before following Barret.

"See you at Kalm," said Tifa cheerfully before following the other two.

As she was walking away, she looked over her shoulder once to look at Cloud.

_I was hoping that I could keep an eye on him, but I'm sure that he'll be safe with John and Aeris. I'm still not sure that everything's right here…_

Cloud simply stood in the same spot where he had before and looked at the three figures as they walked away before looking back at John and Aeris and silently sighing.

_I have no clue what's in store for us, but somehow I feel that this is going to be one hell of a journey…_

* * *

Tseng stood on top of the roof of Shinra headquarters as Rufus's plane landed and he stepped out. 

"It's nice to see you Rufus," said Tseng as he shook his new boss's hand.

"It's great to see you too Tseng," said Rufus as he finished shaking Tseng's hand and started to look at the sunrise, "look at that sunrise Tseng, it symbolizes the dawning of a new age."

Tseng nodded in agreement before starting to speak.

"I was always hoping to see you replace your father one day."

"Yes, his ideas and methods were becoming old, I won't be like that," said Rufus.

"What should we do about AVALANCHE?" asked Tseng.

"Let them leave for now, we'll find them soon enough. We have more urgent matters to attend to for the time being."

"Such as?"

"Such as my first speech to the public. I have to be the one who informs them about my father's death and my new position as president and I have to do it today. I'll go to work on the speech in a few minutes, it shouldn't take long, I've had it in my head for the past few hours," said Rufus with a smile.

"What should I do in the meantime?" asked Tseng.

"You and the other Turks can dispose the body of Dark Nation here, as well as the bodies on the above floors. Clean the rooms as well, we have to erase all traces of carnage, just as my father did with Nibelheim five years ago."

"Anything else?"

"No, not for the moment,"

Tseng started to take his leave when Rufus suddenly remembered something.

"Tseng, wait!"

"Yes?"

"When you have some free time, look into our database and try to find out whatever you can about a John Reeds," said Rufus with a smile.


	20. Chapter XX

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all who took the time to review.

It took me three days to write this chapter, and it is the longest one so far. I wanted to get the story to a certain point at the end of this chapter, so I just kept writing and writing. I even made an outline first of what scenes I was going to do. Originally, I was going to write four more scenes, but I decided against it for different reasons. Anyways, enjoy your read!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XX

As the citizens of Kalm awoke to what seemed to be another normal sunrise, they had no clue of what would be announced on this day across their televisions, something which would send shockwaves not only through them, but the rest of the planet's population as well. They were also blissfully unaware that a man who had murdered several people in Midgar was currently located in their very own square. To their luck, he had no plan of slaughtering anyone in the town or anyone in the vicinity, for the time being at least. Sephiroth walked up the stairs and looked over the edge, admiring the full view of the town.

_Hmm…this place isn't so bad to look at, but it isn't as safe as they all think._

He then looked higher at the wall which went around most of the city and left a healthy space for entrances and departures which could be closed up in case of an attack.

_They probably built that wall to protect them from the Shinra should something happen. Not surprising after what I heard happened in Corel a few years back, but it won't do any good. If someone manages to sneak in, it would be more than enough to take out this whole town. If anything, the wall will leave only one place for the people to escape, making them easy targets. In fact I could destroy this whole place in an instant if I wished to, but luckily for them I don't._

Sephiroth finished that thought with a smile as he sat down and closed his eyes, his mind drifting onto his pursuers.

_Hmm…it would be nice to see just who Cloud is travelling with.__ They shouldn't be much trouble if I should have to fight them I believe, but it would be nice to know who I'm up against nonetheless. Once I take control of Cloud, they might try to disrupt my plan and I cannot allow that to happen! I suppose I could stay in this town and wait for them, but it is not safe. Mother is not very strong in her current state and it would not be impossible for them to defeat her should they somehow manage to back her into a corner._

_Sephiroth, _came Jenova's message, _are you done daydreaming? We should be on our way before they arrive, which should be within this day. We also need to keep a healthy distance so that we are not seen in the field. Besides, this form is very uncomfortable for me; I'd prefer to be in a place where I can be in my full form._

Giving a sigh, Sephiroth knew that she was right and agreed that they'd be on their way. Taking one last look over the town, Sephiroth slowly walked down the stairs and headed for the town entrance. Once they were a healthy distance from the town and it didn't seem that anyone could see them, Jenova slithered out of Sephiroth's sleeve and began to glow once more as she slowly changed back into her regular form. Sephiroth observed that she no longer seemed to have blood coming from her wounds and that they seemed to be gradually healing.

_Excellent, the faster she heals, the easier our journey will be and the less I will have to worry about._

"There, much better!" exclaimed Jenova as she stretched out her alien body, enjoying her steady recovery, "Soon I will be in fighting shape!"

"Let's be on our way mother. Cloud will most likely make a stop at that town, so there's no need for us to hurry. We can travel at a leisurely pace. Besides, it wouldn't do us much good to get too far ahead of them, we do need Cloud to complete our objectives after all," said Sephiroth, smiling deviously at the end.

Jenova was unable to smile due to her lack of a head and the benefits that came along with having one (she had managed to conserve the ability to speak using the power of her magic on her voice box so that her voice could be heard without a bodily movement), but the emotions that would have been behind that smile were still filling her as she began to walk.

Sephiroth began to walk alongside her when she asked a question.

"What were you thinking about back in that town?"

"Nothing important mother, do not worry about it."

_There's no reason to involve her if I want to take a look at Cloud's friends__. I'll just wait for an opportunity to present itself soon. It should be interesting to watch them fight, although I'd prefer to watch them fight another opponent rather than fight them myself…_

* * *

It had been a while since Tifa, Barret and Red had departed for calm, leaving Cloud, Aeris and John waiting at the gates of Midgar. They did not know when they should depart, but they decided that they should wait a couple of hours, to give the other half of their group to come back to them if they encountered serious obstacles on their path. In the meantime Cloud stood standing in the same space where he had stood when the others had left, immersed in his thoughts. 

_Okay, so __our first destination is Kalm, but where do we go after that? Where is Sephiroth going? His last whereabouts before Midgar that I know of were in Nibelheim, but there's nothing there! I guess we just have to hope for the best and find some clues on what he wants to do. Those words about the Ancients…could Sephiroth be an Ancient like he says he is?_

Cloud took a moment to look over at Aeris, who had walked over to the glass and was looking through it, trying to locate something in the slums.

_No…that's impossible. How can Sephiroth be someone like Aeris? There's no way I could ever see her remotely do the things as cruel and murderous that I saw him do in Nibelheim,__ there's gotta be something else here, something I'm not seeing. Wait a sec, that's it, Jenova…she's tied into all this! He didn't go insane and destroy Nibelheim until he investigated about her…his mother. And now they're finally together, like he wanted back then…like he wanted to "take back the planet" with her. Dealing with him is one thing, but both of them…_

As Cloud continued to think, he saw John walk over to Aeris and start talking with her, causing his thoughts to shift.

_And then there's John and those voices that he's hearing, and apparently Sephiroth might be connected to those as well. Argh, this is so confusing! How do I get stuck with these people?!_

As Cloud continued to mentally tear his hair out in frustration, John and Aeris seemed to be rather relaxed as he walked over to her.

"Aeris, what are you doing?" asked John in a rather weary voice.

"I'm looking at my church," she said in a rather glum voice, "Look! You can see it from here!"

John stood beside Aeris and peered through the glass as well and sure enough, there was a clear view of Aeris's church, hole in the roof and all.

"I wanted to go back there at least one more time before I left Midgar. Reno trampled the flowers when Cloud and I were running from him, I wanted to put them back into good shape before I left them behind," she explained, still keeping a light tone of sorrow in her voice.

"Ah, so he was the one who did that," said John, trying not to show his knowledge before he smiled, "Don't worry, I fixed them."

"What?!" she exclaimed as she looked over at him, "When?!"

"Before we came to get you out of the Shinra building, we went over to your house to see how Marlene was doing and to warn your mom to be careful. We took a short break after that and that's when I went over to your church and placed them the way they should be after I saw that someone had walked all over them," said John with a slight blush.

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Aeris with delight before suddenly wrapping her arms around John's chest and squeezing rather hard for a second or so before letting go, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

After she realized what she had done, she tried to hide a blush of her own as well.

"Oh uh, sorry…I guess I should have asked before I did that…" she said as she looked at the ground.

"No no, it's okay," said John quickly, "It wasn't uhh…bad at all."

Aeris looked up again and gave an embarrassed smile and it took John about a second to return one.

"Hey, what are you two doing there?" asked Cloud as he walked over to them.

"Oh, guess what Cloud!" exclaimed Aeris as she ran up to him a few feet before he reached them, "John told me that he took care of those flowers that Reno walked over when we were trying to escape from him."

"Did he now?" asked Cloud in a jokingly way as he looked over at John, who still looked rather embarrassed, "That was really nice of him then wasn't it?"

_Damn it, what was the point of saying that, _thought Cloud to himself, _I was never good with these kinds of things, she'll probably hear about those from Tifa soon…_

In less than a second, Cloud's thoughts shifted once more from Tifa and Aeris to what else had happened in that church when John had gone there.

_I have to find a way of talking to him about those voices without Aeris overhearing. I'd ask him now, but he seems to be determined to make sure that nobody else finds out about it._

"Cloud? Cloud? You there?! Hello!"

"Wha-What?" said Cloud randomly as he snapped out of his trance to find Aeris looking directly at him.

"You seemed to zone off for a second there, is everything ok?" she asked as she lightly leaned in.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," he said in a way that seemed to be reassuring.

"That's good to hear," said Aeris as she went back to standing upright and reached into a pocket on the inside of her jacket, "listen, I found this in the lab when we were trying to find John, I think that thing we killed up there dropped it. I don't know what kind it is, can you tell me?"

With that Aeris extended a yellow materia to Cloud, which he took and looked closely at, seeing a tiny, clear pyramid inside it. After observing it for a few seconds, he realized what the materia was as his pupils slightly widened.

"Wow, this really is something special here, and rare too. These are not easy to find Aeris."

"Really?" asked Aeris with a slight smile, "Well? What is it then?"

"It's an Enemy Skill materia. They were made so that if you are attacked with certain attacks while you have it equipped, the materia will absorb that knowledge and you will be able to use that ability as well," explained cloud as he handed the materia back to Aeris.

"Wow," she said as she placed it in her Mythril armlet, "Who made it?"

"I think they were made by a man named Professor Gast."

"Gast…Gast…I think Hojo was mumbling his name back in the lab at some point," said Aeris as she searched her mind.

"He was the head of Shinra's science department before Hojo," explained Cloud.

"What happened to him?" asked John, trying to fit into the conversation, even though he knew the answer very well, as well as Gast's biological connection to one of the people standing with him.

"I don't know. He apparently disappeared over twenty years ago, then it was reported that he died, but I don't know what the reported reason was. Sephiroth told me this when I was in SOLDIER."

"Sephiroth knew Professor Gast?" asked John.

"Yes, he told me that he spoke to him a few times when he was a child."

"Hmm…how old is Sephiroth?" asked Aeris.

"Let's see…When I last saw him he was around twenty five or so, that would make him about thirty today."

"How was he able to meet Professor Gast then?" asked Aeris, "He would have had to have been less than ten if they met."

"Sephiroth was…raised within Shinra," said Cloud simply.

"What do you mean "within Shinra?"" asked John.

"Just what it means, he never grew up with a normal family. From what he told me, his mother Jenova died when he was born and Shinra raised him."

"But Jenova's not dead, and she was held by the Shinra, how did she even give birth to him?" asked Aeris.

"I don't know," said Cloud, "I agree that something doesn't fit with what he told me, but even he wasn't so sure at the time…"

"There's definitely something not human about him though…" said John as flashes of the corpses in the Shinra building from a few hours back came to his head.

"Yeah, I'll tell everyone about what happened with him when we reach Kalm," said Cloud.

"When should we leave?" asked Aeris.

"Not yet," said Cloud, "we should wait a while longer to give the others a chance to get back to us if something happens up ahead."

"It would be nice if we had some sort of cue…" said John as he tried to stop his drooping eyelids.

_Damn…I should have gotten some sleep while I was waiting for Sephiroth back there…_

* * *

As Tseng and Reno were washing the blood stains off of the late President Shinra's desk and the top floor and Elena and Rude were disposing of the corpses from Sephiroth's attack (with special treatment for the former President, who would need a funeral for the public), Rufus sat on the floor with a pen and a few pieces of paper, writing the speech that he would give later that day. They had a publicist give out the basic information to all of the news media, which would broadcast him throughout the world. 

"Tseng, we'll broadcast from this office, right?" asked Reno, ignoring the stings from his wound.

"Yeah, it will look better that way. The public will see you as a son ready to fill in his father's shoes after a tragic loss, they'll love that," said Tseng with a light chuckle.

_Tragic loss, yeah right! _thought Rufus to himself, _if I could, I wouldn't even waste time for a funeral for him and get on with work! I can't believe what I'm writing; it's like something out of a cliché movie. But I guess it has to be done. It's probably for the best that we don't tell them about Sephiroth's return. The less panic we have to deal with the better. It should also make it easier for us to pursue him and AVALANCHE as well._

"Tseng."

"Yes, Mr. President?"

"Don't call me that. To you, I'm still Rufus, same goes to the other Turks as well."

"Wow," said Reno with a slight laugh, "This is going to be better than when your father was president."

"Well, let's hope so," said Rufus with a smile before looking at Tseng again, "Once we are finished with my father's funeral, you'll have to follow Cloud and Sephiroth and keep track of them."

"But where are they going?" asked Rufus.

"I don't know at the moment," replied Rufus, "I'll talk to Hojo after my speech. He should know something about Jenova and that stuff."

"Oh yeah, uh…about Hojo…" began Reno rather uneasily.

"Yes?"

"He was attacked by that red creature that escaped with them before they got arrested and he went to the infirmary later. He fell asleep so he kinda missed everything."

"And?"

"Well, Reeve and Scarlet are going to tell him everything, but he's probably going to want to talk, i.e. yell at you for letting them escape."

"Yell at me?" Rufus asked with a chuckle, "I'm the President now, he can't yell at me."

"Well, it didn't stop him from yelling in front of your father," said Reno.

"Well these are different times now and it's time that someone puts that man in his place."

"Well good luck with that, I can just imagine him going on about Aeris's escape," shuddered Reno lightly in a comedic fashion.

"Who?" asked Rufus, remembering the name, but mysteriously forgetting the person who carried it.

"The Ancient."

"Oh her," said Rufus as he remembered the flower girl from a few hours ago, "I really don't see a reason in pursuing solely her right now to get her back. If we did that, then Cloud would come back as well while Sephiroth would get further away. Judging the way that Cloud was talking, I'm 99.9 sure that he's going after Sephiroth. The closer that they all are, the easier it will be for us to find them if we need to. And the further away they are from here, the safer we are. That man just seems to forget that tiny little fact."

With that, the three men went back to doing their respective jobs for the time being.

_Excellent, Aeris is safe from Shinra! _thought Tseng with delight to himself, _at least for now… Sephiroth…she better be careful around him…_

"Reno, how's your hand?" asked Rufus.

"It's getting better."

"May I ask who managed to injure you like that?"

"It was that guy John," growled Reno slightly in annoyance.

"Oh, he doesn't seem strong enough to do that," said Rufus rather jokingly.

"Well, Reno has a habit of thinking that all of his opponents are like flies. Guess he learned his lesion this time," said Tseng with a smile.

Reno simply growled something incomprehensible before going back to scrubbing the floor.

_Oh great, what a week! Aeris gets away, Sephiroth comes back, Elena becomes a Turk, I get my hand sliced open and now I'm working like a maid! Geez_

Rufus in the meantime got to the conclusion of his speech, working quickly to finish it in time.

* * *

Tifa made several back flips as another round of missiles came her way, narrowly managing to avoid them all as she felt a series of tiny explosions follow her movements before she landed on her feet. 

_Argh, I've got to find a way to get close to it!_

They had been travelling for a decent while when they saw a Custom Sweeper, a Kalm Fang and a Devil Ride come at them from different sides. Deciding to take advantage of the three versus three situation, they had each taken one of the enemies and gradually led them away from the others. Red had quickly led the Kalm Fang away, while Barret shot at the Devil Ride as it avoided the bullets. Tifa in the meantime had been unable to land a single blow, or to even get close enough to have a chance as the Custom Sweeper had unleashed its Matra Magic skill on her, automatically putting her on the defensive. There had been four waves of that attack now and she still was looking for an opening to take advantage of. It had been somewhere between those waves that she realized that they did not have any Restore materia with them, they had left them back in Midgar with John and Aeris.

_I've got to finish this fast!_

Barret in the meantime was not having as much trouble with his enemy, although he had yet to score a hit with any of his bullets. The situation with them was similar to the one that Tifa had, but in reverse; the Devil Ride was unable to find a way to get closer to Barret because so much of its speed was being used on dodging the bullets. Soon enough, the inevitable happened and Barret shot one of its tires with a bullet. The Devil Ride skidded out of control and crashed, knocking the rider off and killing him instantly.

Red's fight went smoothly as well. He had started off well with a fire spell, which his opponent managed to dodge by jumping above the projectile. This however, had left him vulnerable and Red was able to score a powerful slash on the Kalm Fang's right hind leg, damaging its movement. Since then, the fight had continued with Red emerging as the clear victor when the Kalm Fang was unable to move anymore from the blood loss and simply dropped down, howling in pain. This left Red a clear path to dealing the final blow to the Kalm Fang's neck, killing it instantly as its head was partially severed by a few strong slashes.

Tifa in the meantime continued to watch the Custom Sweeper, waiting for the next barrage of missiles to come. A few seconds come and to her surprise, the Custom Sweeper continued to simply stand there, not making a move.

_Hmm…what's going on? Why isn't it doing anything?_

At that point she looked closer at the Custom Sweeper's sides and noticed something which would bring her victory.

_Its missile launchers are open, but nothing's coming out. He must be out of ammo, excellent!_

Wasting no time while the Custom Sweeper thought up a new plan of attack, Tifa rushed at him and delivered a quick set of punches to its front body causing it to lose its balance slightly as it wobbled backwards. Not letting it get very far, Tifa unleashed a somersault attack. The force of the kick sent the Custom Sweeper falling back which caused it to shut down after the impact caused damage to its inner circuits.

"There," exhaled Tifa as she wiped sweat from her forehead, "Let's go before more of them come."

"Wait a sec," said Barret as he walked up to the fallen Custom Sweeper and examined it.

After a few seconds, he reached down and tore off a certain part with ease. As Tifa and Red looked at it, they saw that it looked like two large metal irons coming out of a circular disc.

"I can attach this to my gun arm, it'll be nice to have some close combat," smiled Barret as he continued down the way to Kalm with Tifa and Red following behind.

* * *

Outside the infirmary of Shinra Headquarters, Reeve and Scarlet sat in the chairs outside the room where they found out that Hojo had recently awoken, waiting for the proper moment to go in. 

"Oh great, this is the last thing I need today," said Scarlet.

"What do you think he's going to do when he learns?" asked Reeve.

"What do you think he's going to do? He's going to yell and want us to get the Ancient back."

Reeve did not reply to that, because he knew that it was completely true.

"No chance of that happening anytime soon though I think, Reeve told me that Rufus has a slightly different agenda than his father, one which does not place as much value on that girl."

"Oh well, less work for us then," said Reeve in a rather upbeat tone.

"Yes, indeed," said Scarlet as she got up, "I don't see why the former president wanted her back; Hojo would have killed her with his experiments before she did anything to help us anyway. You ready to go in?"

Reeve took a deep breath and exhaled before getting up.

"Yeah, let's go."

Knocking twice before opening the door, Reeve already wished to head the other way as Hojo's face appeared before them. He was wearing a neck brace for safety after Red's attack, but was sitting in an upright position which made it easier to talk to him and to make sure that he was listening.

"…how are you doing?" asked Scarlet, trying not to show her disgust with the man.

"As well as a man can be after being attacked by a rare wild animal," replied Hojo before starting with question of his own, "Were the intruders captured?"

"Yes," said Reeve simply before continuing, "but they escaped."

"What?!" asked Hojo in an alarmed tone, "How?!"

"There was an attack, the President was killed," explained Reeve.

"What?! By Whom?!"

"…Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth?" asked Hojo disturbingly calmly before going silent.

Reeve and Scarlet felt the hairs on their neck stand when Hojo started to quietly laugh to himself.

"This is rather unexpected, but delightful," mumbled Hojo, "Yes, yes. It all seems to be falling into place."

He then suddenly turned to Reeve and Scarlet again.

"Is he with the Jenova specimen here?"

"Uhh no," said Scarlet, "He took the specimen with him and left."

Hojo slightly raised his eyebrow as he continued to mutter to himself.

"They left? This is rather unexpected, yes. But still, there should be no worry. They'll be found soon enough, I can amuse myself with the Ancient in the meantime…"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not going to be happening," said Scarlet, trying to repress a smile.

"What? What do you mean?" asked Hojo, slightly raising his voice.

"She's gone."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE?!" exploded Hojo out of the blue, although it was expected by Scarlet and Reeve, who didn't budge an inch.

"The intruders took her with them. They also took that red creature as well," said Scarlet calmly.

"WHAT?! THEY WERE ENDANGERED SPECIES, GET THEM BACK NOW!!!!" yelled Hojo.

"Sorry, the President's got other plans," said Reeve.

"President?" asked Hojo, trying to calm himself down.

"Rufus has taken over since his father died, you have to ask him before you want anything done," said Scarlet with a smile.

"He'll be making a speech soon, why don't you turn on your TV and watch it?" said Reeve as he headed for the door.

"You can talk to him when you get out tomorrow," said Scarlet as she followed him

After they both left without saying goodbye, Hojo grabbed the remote next to him and turned on the television in front of him. As he swathe reporter talking about breaking news that the President of Shinra and others had been murdered and that Rufus would be making a speech soon, he relaxed and leaned back into his bed.

_I can't believe he's going to be in charge of Shinra, it will be difficult to convince him to bring the Ancient back! And Sephiroth is back, or at least "a" Sephiroth is back hehehe…_

* * *

Rufus Shinra sat in the chair which used to be his father's until a few hours ago with his speech in front of him, looking into a camera. Thankfully, only the Turks were in the room besides him, so there would be no nosey questions from the reporters once he was done giving the speech. 

"Okay Rufus, are you ready?" said Tseng as he held his finger at the switch which would turn the camera on and broadcast Rufus live to the homes of millions across the world.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling to relive himself, Rufus nodded as he looked directly at the camera. Tseng flipped the switch and a red light came on at the side of the camera, signaling that he was being broadcasted. Looking down at the papers in front of him, he began to read, although he had mostly memorized the speech and ended up staring into the camera for the most part of the speech, which "better connected him with the viewers" as his father had called it.

"Good day everyone. As you have probably been hearing for the past few hours, there was an attack last night on this very building. During this attack, I regret that we lost several of our very faithful employees, including my father, the President. Our hearts at Shinra go out to all of the victims' family and friends. As much as all of us are shocked by this tragedy, including myself, it is our job to move forward and make sure that such an event does not occur again. And it with that responsibility that I announce that I am taking my father's position as the president of Shinra Corporation. I promise you that under my leadership, we will track down the party or parties who were responsible for these heinous offences and see that they are brought to justice. I will say right now that my presidency will not mirror my father's. We will allocate the finances a bit differently from now on. The events of the past twenty four hours have shown us that we need to keep more money within the corporation for the time being to build our defenses. But do not worry, as Shinra Inc. will still be there for you should danger befall you. I will be making some trips soon to find ways to combat our new foes and to guarantee your safety. Should I arrive to where you might be, do not hesitate to warn me or other Shinra officials if you have seen any questionable characters as of recent because that could be of great help to us. Within the next few days, we will hold a funeral for my father, as well as a memorial service for the victims of the attack. Thank you for your cooperation, goodbye."

With that, Tseng flipped the switch on the camera once again and the light turned off. Rufus sighed as he leaned back in chair, feeling a wave of relaxation come over him.

"Whew, glad that's over with."

"Now what Rufus?" asked Tseng.

Sitting upright again, Rufus began to respond.

"For the moment, we have to bury my father before we can proceed forward. When can I talk to Hojo?"

"Scarlet called me a while back and told me that he will be out of the infirmary tomorrow."

"Well then, that leaves me free for the rest of the day. All of you can have the rest of the day off as well."

"We can go buy suits for Elena now," said Reno as he looked over at their newest colleague, who was still dressed in a white T-shirt and Jeans.

"A-all right," said Elena quietly.

"In that case, I'll see all of you tomorrow after I have spoken with Hojo," said Rufus before the Turks walked down the stairs.

_I think I'll turn in early tonight. The more rested I am for Hojo the better, I can't stand that man.__ I wonder how John and Cloud are doing right now, and that Ancient as well. She better be prepared to spend some time with them, because I'm not sure if I will ever give Hojo the permission to waste our money and time in tracking her down and capturing her._

* * *

Rufus's speech had been heard throughout Midgar, and some of the citizens had their televisions turned out so loud that the sound reached the outer limits of the city as well. Due to this, Cloud, Aeris and John had been able to hear the speech in its entirety. As soon as it ended, none of them dared to move, not knowing quite how to respond. 

"So…" began Aeris.

"That was so fake," said John with a very light chuckle, "He hated his father."

"How do you know that?" asked Aeris inquisitively.

"He told me," replied John, shocking Aeris slightly.

"He told you? When?"

"When they were fighting up there," said Cloud, "although it seemed like a series of friendly conversations with an occasional punch"

"Cloud, what are you talking about?" asked John, surprised at his behavior.

"Nothing, it's just that…it seemed weird."

"Weird? How?"

"Out of all the people to randomly engage in a conversation with, Rufus Shinra seems to be quite an interesting choice," said Cloud in a tone that seemed to shock John slightly.

_He can't seriously mean… _thought John in the back of his mind.

"Cloud, I'm on your side, not on his. He was the one who kept on talking, why are you making such a big deal about this anyway?"

"…sorry, just watch yourself around that guy, remember who he is…" mumbled Cloud as he looked away to the open area leading away from Midgar.

"Okay then," said Aeris as she cleared her throat before turning to John, "I think you were talking about a cue for us to leave this place earlier. I think that speech was a good one, don't you?"

"Yeah, you're right…" said John as he looked over from Aeris to Cloud, who had returned his gaze onto John.

"Let's go," said Cloud before heading off in the same direction that Barret and the other had gone in the morning.

Aeris followed behind with John at the very end, all of them silent after the awkward conversation.

_This is the last thing that we need right now…_thought Aeris to herself as she sighed, before looking back at John and the city that had more or less been her home for the past twenty two years.

_Good bye Midgar, until we meet again._

* * *

A short while after Cloud, Aeris and John had set off from Midgar, the remaining half of their group arrived that their destination: Kalm. Exhausted from their continuous trip, the team all but dragged themselves to the town gates. 

"Finally, we're here," said Barret with relief.

"Yeah," said Tifa, leaning against the wall to take a breather, "Hey Barret, what is this wall for?"

"Oh that, it was built sometime after the Wutai war. The people here were worried that Wutai would try to regain their forces and strike back on Shinra and since this town is not that far from Midgar, they wanted to protect themselves. Didn't happen though, I heard that Wutai's pretty much a resort town now. Shame too, I used to hear great stories about the empire in that place."

"Hmm…that is quite some knowledge you have, if you forgive my observation," said Red as he laid down for a few seconds, "Barret, where are you from?"

To Red's surprise, Barret suddenly went silent after that and looked at the town before speaking.

"I'll go to the Inn and check us in, I'll tell them to keep three more beds open as well," he said rather coldly before departing.

"…did I do something wrong?" asked Red after Barret had gone into the building.

"No, it's not your fault. Barret doesn't like talking about his hometown; I asked him about it once and all he told me as that there are too many "bad memories" there for him," explained Tifa.

"Oh…" said Red quietly as he got back up on his feet and headed for the Inn with Tifa.

"There you are," said Barret as soon as they entered the building, "We're upstairs, I took two rooms, one with four beds and one with two. Cloud and John can join Red and me when they get here and Aeris can stay with you."

"Okay," said Tifa as she went to go upstairs to look at her room.

"Barret," began Red after Tifa had left, "Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked-"

"Don't worry about it," interrupted Barret in a voice that did not carry the cold qualities which had been previously present, "It's not your fault, I'll tell you one day."

* * *

As the afternoon progressed, Reno, Rude and Tseng headed to a tailor in the city of Sector 3 with Elena in tow. 

"You're going to love this guy," said Reno, "Ron made all of our suits and they fit just right. He shouldn't have any problem making one for you."

"Thanks," said Elena, "But what if he tries to…you know, cop a feel?"

The three men all laughed at that when the thought of Elena's reaction came to their mind.

"Don't worry about that," said Reno, "Ron knows how to separate business and pleasure, he's one of the most respected tailors in the word."

"That's true," added Rude, "He's not restricted to only suits as well. All of the Shinra executives have had their clothes made by him. Even Scarlet and Rufus."

"We're here," said Tseng as they approached a building that looked pretty average to say the least.

Elena was surprised at the state of the building. She had expected to see something lavish and glamorous since all the Shinra Executives got their clothes done here.

_Wow, this guy better be that good then…_

"Ron, you here?" called Reno.

A tiny bald man with grey hair who seemed to be in his mid 50's came out of a corner and smiled.

"Well then, what are you guys doing here?" he said as he walked towards them, "Do you need new suits for the funeral? Or is Rufus demanding that you dress in white like him now?"

"No no Ron," said Tseng with a smile, "We have a new Turk and we need you to make a suit for her."

"Her?" asked Ron as he looked over at Elena and smiled, "It's been quite a while since a woman became a Turk, why don't you come with me and we'll do you measurements?"

Elena hesitated for a few seconds before looking over at Tseng and getting a nod from him. Once she had gone with Ron to the other side of the room and he was measuring the length of her arms, the other Turks stood by the door.

"So where are we going to go?" asked Rude, "Reno told me that we have to go after those people and Sephiroth."

"Rufus is going to talk to Hojo tomorrow and see if he knows anything. Anyways, be prepared to leave right after the funeral is over. I have to do something else till then…" Tseng said as he remembered the conversation with Rufus in the morning.

"What is it Tseng?" asked Rude, noticing Tseng's change of face.

"Rufus asked me to do a background check on that John guy. I'll do that tomorrow, I'll take a look at all of them as well; see if I can find anything we can use."

"Will we travel on foot or by helicopter?" asked Reno.

"We'll take a helicopter to get within a reasonable distance of them I think if we have to, and then we'll probably have to go on foot."

"Great," said Reno with a sight as he looked over at Elena, who was walking towards them with a smile on her face.

"We're done, he says that two suits will be ready by tomorrow," she said cheerfully.

"That's Ron for ya, always the man for the job," said Reno with a grin.

"Now what?" asked Elena.

"Let's go," said Tseng, "We'll tell you about our future plans on the way."

"The way? The way to where?"

"You'll be travelling with us from now on. We're staying at a hotel in this sector. Don't worry, you'll get used to having us around."

"Uhh thanks," said Elena rather nervously.

"See ya Ron," said Reno as they walked out to the street.

"Bye," said Ron, "Be sure to pick up the suits tomorrow."

* * *

"Cloud, do you think we'll make it there before sunset?" asked Aeris, tired from the walking. 

"I don't know," replied Cloud, "I can't see anything yet."

John looked back and was still able to see the form of Midgar in the far distance. They'd been walking for hours and they still could not escape the glare of that city. John was not in a good shape either; his fatigue from the past few days and the lack of sleep was beginning to mount.

_Damn, I can't stop. Not here, not now._

Aeris looked back to see John struggling to keep his eyes open and beginning to wobble.

"John, are you okay?" she asked, tired herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied, trying not to slow everyone down.

_What's wrong with John? Why is he so tired? _Thought Aeris before another thought hit her, _Wait a sec, of course! While we were sleeping in the cells, he was trying not to get captured. And he was awake the previous night a lot when we went to find Tifa. He hasn't slept in two days, oh John…_

"Hey, we got trouble!" came Cloud's voice, bringing Aeris out of her thoughts.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Something's coming this way."

Aeris and John walked up to Cloud and stood next to him, their staffs ready. In this distance, they could see two machines approaching.

"What are those?" asked Aeris.

"I think they're called Custom Sweepers," said Cloud.

"Aren't they usually found in reactors?" asked John, "Why are they out here?"

"Shinra replaces the ones in the reactors every now and then. They don't want to destroy the old ones so they just dump them somewhere outside and leave them to roam until they shut down."

"They're getting close," said Aeris, tightening her grip on her staff.

Had Tifa been there at that moment, she would have warned them about the missiles. Unfortunately for them, she was currently absent, so they were unprepared when both of the Custom Sweepers suddenly launched a barrage of missiles at them.

"What the," began Aeris.

"RUN!" yelled Cloud.

As fast as they ran, they were not quick enough to escape the force of the blasts and were send flying forward as they turned around, rolling as they fell. Through all the pain, Aeris still noticed that the Enemy Skill materia in her armlet was glowing.

"Cloud, the materia's glowing!" she exclaimed as she managed to get up on her hands and knees, looking to her left to see the Custom Sweepers preparing to attack again with missiles.

"That means it learned that attack," he said as he got back up on his feet, "Quick, you can use it to counter them."

Aeris nodded at Cloud as she raised her hand at the Custom Sweepers and a red light began to surround her. As the custom Sweepers fired their missiles, floating red projectiles appeared around Aeris and launched in the direction of the missiles. The red projectiles met the missiles halfway through and stopped every one of them, leaving both groups unharmed.

"Now Aeris! Shoot again before they do!" exclaimed Cloud.

Aeris got herself to her feet and extended her hand again. Now more familiar with the materia after on one use, the projectiles came rapidly and the Custom Sweepers did not even have time to prepare their missile launchers as they were bombarded and sent tumbling backwards.

"Good job, I'll finish this," said Cloud as he stepped forward and extended his hand as well.

Firing a lightning bolt, he instantly destroyed one of the Custom Sweepers in an explosion. Before the other one could make a move, he used the same technique to destroy it as well.

"There, that takes care of that," said Cloud, "You ok, Aeris?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"John, are you ok?" asked Cloud without turning.

"Y-yeah," said John in an extremely exhausted tone.

"John?" asked Cloud as he turned around, shocked at what he saw.

John was anything but ok; he was clinging onto his staff, trying to keep his eyes open and with a big gash on his forehead from the impact.

"John! Hold still," said Aeris as she ran up to him and cast a cure spell on the massive cut, healing it within a few seconds.

"Thanks," breathed John slowly.

"What's wrong?" asked Cloud as he walked towards him.

"I-It's nothing Cloud," said John, trying to stand on two legs.

"Cloud, I think we should rest here for the night," suggested Aeris.

"What?! No no, listen, I can make it!" exclaimed John quickly.

"John listen to me," said Aeris as she looked him in the eye, "It was you who told us to go to sleep and be in top shape to escape. Well, you didn't do that, you can't keep going like this, you won't make it to Kalm without collapsing."

"But-"

"No, she's right," said Cloud, "You two take a seat here. There are a few small trees around; I'll go gather some wood for a fire."

With that, Cloud turned around and started walking towards the nearest one, which was a decent, but visible distance from them. During that time, Aeris and John did as he said and sat down on the ground.

"…thanks," said John, looking at Aeris.

"You're welcome," replied Aeris, smiling, "Don't push yourself too hard. If that had been Sephiroth, you would have probably been killed."

To Aeris's surprise, John only gave a laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asked, making a slight pout.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," he said with a grin, confusing her somewhat.

_He he, of all the people to tell me that…_

"I forgot to say thank you," said Aeris after a few moments.

"For what?"

"For keeping your promise," she said with a smile.

John simply stared at her for a few seconds with an equal smile on his face before replying.

"You're welcome."

* * *

In what seemed like no time at all, the sun had set and Tifa was lying on her bed at the Kalm Inn, staring at the ceiling. As much as she wanted, she could not push certain thoughts out of her head to get a good night's sleep. 

_Where are they? I hope they're safe. __Damn it, I've got to calm down. I won't be able to help Cloud if I can't focus my thoughts. Ugh!_

Frustrated, she sat up and turned on the lights next to her bed.

_Damn, I wish Aeris was here so I'd have some company. It's insane just being alone with my thoughts. Sephiroth…what happened to you back at that reactor? What happened to Zack? Where was Cloud? Why does he think that he was there?__ Something is not right here!_

* * *

Around that time, Aeris, Cloud and John were sitting around a fire, the light of the sun completely gone by now. There was silence between them due to what had happened right before they left Midgar, so Aeris decided to do something about it. 

"So…what was he like?" she asked, looking at John.

"Who?"

"Rufus."

"Oh," said John, slightly looking over at Cloud to see his reaction, which seemed to be quite serene, at least for him.

"It was kind of strange. He just wanted to continue talking for some reason. He doesn't seem to be as delusional as you'd expect from the President of Shinra. He's quite realistic. He kept asking about what I thought would happen to Shinra if he died as well and about Sephiroth."

"Hmm…seems that Shinra will be quite difficult to deal with now, they'll probably try to find us at some point," said Cloud before looking over to John, "Listen…I'm sorry for earlier, I didn't mean to do that. I was just-"

"Don't worry about it," said John, knowing where Cloud was going, "We're all okay right now and that's the important thing."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," said Cloud, finally feeling relaxed.

"Cloud, can I ask you a question?" asked John.

"Sure."

"Why did you choose for us to stay behind and send the others ahead."

"Oh…," said Cloud rather uneasily, seeing that Aeris had plugged her ears firmly into the conversation at this point, wanting to know the answer as well.

"Well, I didn't know what lay ahead. I had to make sure that those that went could defend themselves no matter what and make it back."

"And…" went Aeris, knowing where this was headed.

"…you two don't have as much fighting experience as them, so I thought that it would be safer for you to remain with me."

"So that's it," said John, smiling to Cloud's surprise, "we're stragglers he he."

"No, that's not true!" exclaimed Cloud.

_Geez, if anything, you two are the most important ones on this journey!_

"Don't worry Cloud," said Aeris with a light chuckle, "He was only kidding, it's no surprise that you and Tifa are much better fighters than us."

"Yes well…don't worry; you'll learn how to fight properly eventually."

"Hmm…why don't you teach us then?!" asked John.

"What?" asked Cloud, surprised at the suggestion.

"He's right; you can help us become better fighters faster. Come on, it shouldn't be much for a former First Class SOLDIER now, should it?" asked Aeris with a grin.

"Umm…well…"

_How do I get myself into these things?_

"Okay…"

"Oh, can you teach me how to use a sword as well?" asked John, striking the iron while it was hot.

"Uhh…s-sure…we'll see… Buy a sword at Kalm and we can start once we leave."

_Teach this guy how to use a sword? He can barely guard himself with a staff. But still, if he wants to go after Sephiroth, he better be as prepared as he can be. Her as well, she has the Shinra to worry about. She has to be able to fight them back._

"Well then it's settled," said Aeris with a yawn, "I'm going to turn in early, you guys. Good night."

"'Night," said John and Cloud as she lied down and closed her eyes.

Cloud and John waited for about five minutes after which Cloud got up and kneeled beside Aeris, staring at her for about thirty seconds before going over to John and sitting down next to him.

"All right, she's asleep."

John only responded with a nod.

"I still think that you should tell her about those voices. She might be able to help you," said Cloud.

"No, she's got enough of her own to deal with right now. It would only make her worry."

"…have you heard them again since that time?"

"No…but you never know…"

This time it was Cloud's turn to respond with a simple nod before slightly switching the subject to what he wanted to talk about.

"So then…what happened when you saw Sephiroth?"

John sighed before beginning to tell his story, although he slightly altered it to not make Cloud suspicious.

"I was waiting by Jenova's chamber for a guard to come by so I could try to get their keys when he came. He sliced through her cell and got her out. She was badly damaged; there was blood all over her when she got out of her restraints. After that, I followed them upstairs. When I reached the top, he had already killed the President and was standing on the balcony. I looked out of the window at him…"

John let out another sight before continuing.

"…and then he looked back at me. And I knew. I don't know how to describe it, but I knew. He knows what these voices are, I'm pretty sure that he or Jenova might be somehow causing them."

"But why are you hearing them?" asked Cloud.

John looked deeper into the fire as he balled his hands into fists and clenched them.

"I don't know, I really don't know," he said with fear, "But I've got to do something about it."

"Then it seems that we're going to be on the same path for quite awhile," said Cloud in a more relaxed tone.

"…do you mind?" asked John, slightly nervous about the answer.

"No," said Cloud with a light smile as he looked into the fire as well, "Actually, I'm quite relieved."

"Why?" asked John, rather surprised.

"I don't know," said Cloud, "I just find it easier to talk to you than I do with most people."

When he said that, John took his eyes off the fire and moved them over to Cloud.

"Because you know so little about me?" he asked in a slightly humorous way.

"Perhaps," said Cloud, looking back at John, "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

"Sorry Cloud," said John with a smile, "For now, let's just stay as two people on the same path."

"…is there something you don't want others to know?"

Silence.

"All right then, what are you going to do when we find Sephiroth?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll ask him about them."

"Ask him?" asked Cloud with a slight raise of his eyebrow, "The last time I saw someone ask Sephiroth something or even get close to him, he rammed them through with his sword."

"Well, then. Let's just hope that I have better luck," said John with smile.

They went back to staring at the fire for a few minutes before Cloud got up and went to where he had been previously sitting.

"Get some sleep; you need it," said Cloud as he laid down and closed his eyes, "good night."

"Good night Cloud."

John continued to watch the fire for about a minute or two before looking up at the sky and letting out yet another sigh. Finally, he laid down and closed his eyes, his body sill being warmed by the fire. Sleep came instantly and strangely enough, it was both dreamless and peaceful, a smile never leaving his face.

* * *

Okay, are you still alive? he he. I can't believe I wrote so much. 

Twenty chapters is quite a milestone and I have to say that I never imagined that this story would have the success that it's having. And so for the umpteenth time I have to thank all the readers and reviewers who enjoy reading this for one reason or another. One person who deserves special mention is Malefactior, who always takes the time to tell me what he thinks. Your suggestions and reviews have made me improve my writing and this story for the better and I thank you greatly for that. And so, thanks for reading this extra little part. Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	21. Chapter XXI

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and a special thanks to the reviewers.

Well, after twenty chapters of rather smooth writing, I hit troubles as I was writing this. I wouldn't exactly call it writers block, but more of a "creative crossroad". I had several different ways in which to take this part of the story and I hope that I chose the correct one. This chapter was also originally supposed to be a longer one similar to the last one, but in the end I decided to split it into two parts. I don't think this is one of the better chapters by any means to tell you the truth, but it has to be done I guess. I left most of the good parts for the next one. Well anyways, enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXI

_Ugh!_

In a hotel in Sector 3, Reno opened his light blue eyes in irritation when the sunlight hit his face. Turning over, he tried to get back to sleep, but to no avail.

_Dammit, why do I have to sleep on the couch? So Elena joins us, does she automatically have to take my bed?! Sheesh! Look at them, still sleeping!_

Due to the sudden addition of Elena to their team, there had been no time to change rooms, so one of them had to sleep on the couch, which was in front of the balcony of their penthouse. Both Tseng and Rude had agreed that Elena should sleep in one of the beds to feel more comfortable, and somewhere along that path they forgot about Reno's comfort.

_Geez, couldn't they have curtains around the balcony at least?! Judging by how much this room costs, I think they owe it to us. I didn't even get a pillow!_

Giving up, Reno got up and grabbed one of the cushions from the couch. Looking over at Elena, who was still sound asleep, he gave a grin.

_Heh, this should teach her about the price of taking my bed!_

With that thought, he hurled the cushion at her sleeping form with all his might. The projectile made a direct hit and Elena was awoken by the blow, immediately jolting up and looking around the room for signs of what had just happened.

"Rise and shine princess, we have a lot to do today," said Reno, the grin still on his face.

"No we don't Reno," said Rude, who had also been awoken, "The funeral is tomorrow, we have today off. The only one who has something to do is Tseng."

"Yeah," added Tseng as his eyes opened to his regret, "Just cause you had to sleep on the couch doesn't mean that you have to wreck the morning for all of us. If Rude and Elena want to sleep, then they can."

"Whatever," said Reno as he turned around and headed for the shower.

After he was gone, Elena gave a sigh and leaned back against the headboard.

"Hey, don't worry about him," said Rude, giving her one of his race smiles, "He'll warm up to you eventually. Reno might act like a jerk sometimes, but he's one of the most loyal friends that you can have."

* * *

About two hours after the sun had risen, Cloud, Aeris and John arrived at the gates of Kalm. 

"Whew," said Aeris, leaning on the part of the wall where Tifa had been the previous day, "We made it."

"Yeah," said John with a smile, "Finally, we can relax a bit."

Aeris had noticed that there didn't seem to be any tension between Cloud and John like there was yesterday. She didn't ask either of them about it, she simply guessed that they must have talked after she had gone to sleep.

"What are you thinking about Cloud?" she asked, shifting her gaze to him.

"I'm trying to think where the others might be," he replied.

"Maybe they're at the Inn, they would have had to stop there for the night," said John.

"Yeah, let's check there," said Cloud as he began to walk in the direction of the inn.

As they were walking, John took a look around him to observe the town. For the most part it looked just as it should have, except it seemed that there were more buildings. Suddenly something caught his eye: a black chocobo. He looked next to it to find its owner, a man in a red shirt and a hat.

_I know him…he's the guy who races at Gold Saucer._

Looking over to the chocobo one more time, he made a mental note to talk to the jockey by himself later on.

"Hello, would you like a room?" asked the receptionist once they entered the inn.

"No, we're looking for some people. A tall man, a young girl and a red…creature, have you seen them?" asked Cloud.

"Oh, so you're the friends that they were talking about. They checked in yesterday and said that you would come later. I think they're still sleeping, should I wake them?"

"No, let them sleep," said Cloud before turning back to John and Aeris, "Well, I guess we got some time to kill until they wake up."

"Can we go eat somewhere?" asked Aeris as she placed her hand on her stomach, "I'm starving."

"Same here," added John.

_We haven't eaten anything since the morning we hit the Sector Five reactor…_

As they walked back outside, John took another look in the direction of the black chocobo and the jockey before quickly looking at Cloud.

"Have you been here before?"

"No," replied Cloud, "I passed by this place several times, but I never went in."

Aeris in the meantime scanned the area, trying to find a place where they could eat.

"Hey look, there's a diner over there," she said as she pointed to a sign in front of the tunnel next to the stairs, "let's go."

"Good idea," said John, "we can ask if Sephiroth's been seen around here, so we know where to go."

Cloud gave only a nod in agreement before the three of them set off in the direction of the tunnel. Once they entered, they sat down on the stools in front of the table silently and waited.

"Hey, did you see that guy in the black cloak?" came a voice to the left John, which instantly caught his attention.

"Excuse me?" asked John as he looked over at the man, who seemed to be a local with thinning hair, "What was that about a black cloaked man?"

"Oh, do you know him?" asked the man back, rather startled by John's appearance.

"Uhh…kind of, we need to find him," said John, wanting to give away as little as possible, "Do you know where he might be?"

"Well, the only places to go from here are Midgar and the Mythril Mine."

"Mythril Mine?" asked Aeris, "Where's that?"

"You have to continue north from here and you should see a marsh to the east after the mountains subside. But I gotta warn you, there are massive snakes there, Midgar Zoloms. If one catches you, you're as good as dead."

"How do we get past them?" asked Cloud.

"Most people use chocobos from the nearby ranch to outrun the snakes."

"Ah, I see," said Cloud, "thank you."

"Don't mention it," said the man before going back to his conversation, leaving Cloud and the others to their thoughts.

_Giant snakes, great. That's the last thing I need…_

* * *

A few minutes later at the inn, the other half of AVALANCHE came down the stairs, wanting to find out the whereabouts of their friends, who hadn't come during the night. Luckily for them, they didn't need to do anything to find out where they were. 

"Oh, excuse me," called out the receptionist, "Those people that you talked about were here a few minutes ago."

"They were?" asked a surprised Tifa.

"Yeah, they asked for you and decided not to wake you up."

"Do you know where they went?" asked Red.

"Well, they said that they were hungry, so they probably went to the diner in the tunnel."

"The diner in the tunnel, okay. Thank you," said Tifa politely before walking out of the inn with Barret and Red behind her.

Tifa had not been expecting her day to start off on such a good note, especially after last night. It had taken her about three hours to fall asleep with all the thoughts about her past and near future running through her head. After a short walk, they found their allies eating breakfast and talking amongst themselves about their next move. Hearing footsteps behind her, Aeris turned around to see her companions and smiled.

"There you are."

"I could say the same to you," replied Tifa as she looked at all three of them, "Where were you last night?"

"Umm…we kinda…had to rest along the road," said John, not wanting to tell them that it was because of his fatigue, although they had probably understood that by this point.

"Take a seat, order something," said Cloud as he pointed to two free seats to his right.

"We have to find out where Sephiroth is heading," said Tifa as she and Barret took a seat while Red sat on the floor.

"One step ahead of you," said John, "Apparently, he's planning on heading through the Mythril Mine."

"The Mythril Mine…the only place after that in Junon," said Barret as he looked at the menu.

"So he's planning on crossing the sea?" asked Tifa.

"Seems like it," said Cloud.

"Where would he go after that?" asked Aeris.

"I have no clue, all we can do for now is follow him and try not to lose his trail," said Cloud.

"Does that mean that we will cross the sea as well?" asked Red from the floor.

"Probably," said Cloud, "Is something wrong?"

"No, on the contrary," said Red in a rather joyous tone, "my home is on the western continent."

"Red, may I ask you where you're from?" asked John.

"I'm from Cosmo Canyon," said Red.

"I've heard that it's really beautiful," said John.

"It is, you're more than welcome there, especially after helping me."

"Thank you," said John with a smile, "I look forward to seeing it."

John was not lying entirely. He might have seen it on a television screen before, but he was really interested in seeing the place in person.

* * *

While Avalanche was eating their breakfast in the diner, Rufus Shinra had just entered his office, where he saw Tseng already waiting for him. 

"Hello Tseng, you're early."

"Yeah well, blame Reno," said Tseng in a humorous tone.

"How is his hand?" asked Rufus, smiling.

"It's getting better; he should be able to fight again in a few days."

"All right then, you, Rude and Elena will have to keep an eye on him for a couple of days then."

"Is it already decided when we are leaving then?" asked Tseng.

"I've called the infirmary and told them to send Hojo up here later today. I'm hoping to get some kind of hint to where Sephiroth might be heading. My father's funeral is tomorrow and all of us have to be present, you'll leave the following day."

Tseng nodded before asking a question.

"What about Cloud and the others?"

"We'll have to find a way to keep track of them," said Rufus in frustration as he ran his hands through his fingers, "I'll think about a way to do that after the funeral. What are you planning on doing today?"

"I'll go look up information on that John guy like you wanted. I'll look through the records for the others as well; see what I can find out."

"All right Tseng, I'm counting on you," said Rufus as he went to his desk and sat down, "You can come back here this evening to tell me what you find."

"All right, I'll see you later," said Tseng before walking down the stairs.

Leaning back in his chair, Rufus escaped into his thoughts.

_Hmm…a way to keep an eye on them…_

* * *

"There," said Red as he removed his face from the plate on the floor. 

The diner owner had been kind enough to let him put the plate with a grilled piece of meat on the floor so it would be easier for him to eat.

"All right then, are we all done?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah," said Tifa, "now what? Do we go after Sephiroth?"

"No, not just yet," said Cloud, "Let's go back to the inn; it's time I tell you the story of what happened with me and Sephiroth."

Tifa slowly nodded before starting off in the direction of the inn, her chest tightening as she thought about what he might say.

_This is it, I'll finally find out how he knows what happened._

"Finally," said Barret, "let's go."

"You guys go ahead," said John, "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, hurry up," said Cloud as he walked out.

John only spent a few seconds in the bathroom. After coming out, he looked out of the tunnel to make sure that the others were far away enough for him to do what he wanted to do. Watching as they entered the inn, he walked across from the building to where the black chocobo and the jockey were standing.

"Excuse me; you're Chocobo Joe, correct?"

"Why, yes I am," replied the jockey with a cocky smile, "Would you like an autograph?"

"Um…no, actually, I have a favor to ask of you," said John rather nervously.

"I was wondering if it would be possible for me to borrow your chocobo for a few hours tonight,"

"What-"

"I can pay," said John before Joe had a chance to think, "How's…2000 Gil for you?"

"2000 Gil…wow you must really have something important to do."

"Yes…I do," said John, "I'll have him back in the morning."

"Where are you going?"

"Around the outskirts of Midgar."

"Hmm…that seems to be rather close, all right, you give me the money and I'll leave ol' Zeke here for you tonight. Don't worry, I'll tell him to listen," said Joe with a smile.

"Thank you," said John as he handed over the money before remembering something, "Can you do one other thing for me?"

"Yes?"

"Can you leave something here next to Zeke?"

"All right, what would that be?" asked Joe.

After hearing what John wanted, Joe slightly raised his eyebrows before agreeing.

"All right, that should be easy. Just be back before sunrise."

"I will, thank you again," said John as he turned back and ran into the inn.

* * *

Unknown to John, he had been watched by one of his teammates. When she had walked up to the biggest room with four beds, Tifa had gone over to the window for some fresh air and had seen John talking to a man across the street, but she had been unable to hear a word of what they had said. When she saw John running into the inn, she quickly went over to where the others were gathered as he walked up the stairs. 

_What was all that about? Was that guy…a jockey?_

"Sorry I'm late," said John, "Is it okay if I take a shower first? I wanna wash all of this blood off me."

"Yeah, go ahead," said Cloud, "but don't take too long, I need to take one after you."

"All right," said John as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

"I better take one too," said Aeris, "Is there another one here?"

"There's one in our room across the hall," said Tifa as she gave Aeris a key.

"Thanks Tifa, I'll be back soon," said Aeris, walking out of the room.

Once water could be heard, Tifa spoke.

"So how was it?"

"How was what?" asked Cloud, slightly confused.

"Travelling with them."

"Oh that," said Cloud as he brought his eyes to the floor before bringing them up to look at Tifa again, "It was okay I guess. I somehow agreed to train them to become better fighters at some point."

Tifa only let out a laugh in response.

"What was that about?" asked Cloud, slightly frowning.

"You're going to teach them fighting skills?" asked Tifa, still smiling.

"Yeah."

"Well then, that will be something to watch then," said Tifa, the smile still not leaving her face.

* * *

About half of an hour later, all the members of AVALANCHE had gathered around the beds and Cloud began to tell his story. All pairs of ears seemed to be glued to what he was saying. John in the meantime, while pretending to be shocked at just the correct moments and asking a few questions here and there, kept listing over his future goals, which so far there seemed to be only two. 

_All right, I have to: one, keep Aeris from getting killed by Sephiroth and two, try to find out about these voices. I can't do anything about number one right now and even hinting at it would be too much for them. I don't have a __choice; I have to wait until we reach that time and try to warn her in some way. As for the number two…I have to try to talk to Sephiroth at some point when we meet him. The first place where it seems like that would be possible is the Shinra boat. Hmm…that means that they'll hear me…but I guess that I can't help that. It's only a matter of time before they find out about the voices anyway, I can only hope that they'll be like Cloud and believe me._

John then looked over at Aeris, who seemed to get a concerned look on her face when Cloud reached the part when Sephiroth began talking about the Ancients and had to hold back a sigh.

_Aeris…what am I going to do? How can I warn you_

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his head, John tuned back into Cloud's story, which seemed to get hazy at this point, when he had gone to challenge Sephiroth at the reactor.

_There's still time…_

Tifa during this time, found herself holding back corrections to Cloud's story, the reasons behind his knowledge still not clear.

_What…what was that? When was he in the reactor? What about that SOLDIER guy? Shouldn't they have met if they both came?_

John looked over at Tifa, seeing her confusion and feeling sorry for her.

_Poor Tifa, she's holding back so much…_

"That's it?!" asked Barret after Cloud had abruptly finished, "What happened after that?"

"I don't know, I can't remember," said Cloud, "In terms of physical strength, I couldn't have beaten him."

John looked over to Tifa who had a strained look on her face before speaking.

"Official records state that Sephiroth is dead, I read it in the newspaper."

"Shinra Inc. owns that paper, so you can't trust it," said Aeris.

After a few seconds of silence, John spoke up.

"…so what are we going to do now?"

"Well first, we have to get supplies," said Cloud, "and for that we need money, enough money to have some left over in case of an emergency. So I think we should make some money for the rest of the day and leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow…wouldn't that put too much distance between us and Sephiroth?" asked Red.

"It's a risk we have to take," said Cloud, "we have to be prepared."

"How are we going to make money?" asked Aeris.

"Well, I saw "help wanted" signs at that diner, so I can work there with Tifa," explained Cloud, "There's also construction going on here and I overhead some of the people talking about them needing help, so I thought that Barret and Red could help them somehow."

After seeing that they were okay with his decisions, he looked over at John and Aeris.

"Now then, about you two…"

John was about to open his mouth when Aeris spoke up.

"Don't worry about us Cloud, we'll find something."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," she replied with a smile.

"Okay then, let's go," said Cloud.

Without another word, AVALANCHE descended down the stairs, where the pairs went off in separate directions. Cloud and Tifa headed to the tunnel, while Barret and Red went some distance to its right, where some construction workers were gathered and working on a house. Once they seemed to be alone, John turned to Aeris.

"So?"

"So what?" she asked with a smile.

"What are we going to do? You seemed to have an idea," he said as he began walking around the area.

"Oh, uhh no, I didn't actually," she said in a slightly nervous voice, "Did you think that the first thing we would do on an adventure would be seeking jobs?"

"No, I didn't," said John while smiling, "I see what you mean. Let's try to find something exciting."

"Yeah," said Aeris happily before she noticed poster on a wall and walked up to it, "Hey, come over here."

"What's that?" asked John as he reached her.

"It's a wanted poster, look!"

The poster showed the faces of five bandits, each wearing a red bandana, and underneath them it said that the capture of each one was worth 15,000 Gil.

"It says that they've been attacking travelers in the Kalm area," said John.

"Exactly, so it shouldn't be too hard to find them. If we can take them down, then we'll have all the money we need," she said with assurance.

"Well…"

"Come on, if we do this, we'll make way more money than the others," said Aeris with a wicked smile before adding, "and it'll show Cloud not to underestimate us."

John could help but give a mischievous smile back of his own.

"Since you put it like that…"

"Excellent, let's go," said Aeris as she ran in the direction of the gates and out of the town, lightly giggling.

"Hey, wait up!" called out John as he ran after her.

* * *

In an office at Shinra Headquarters, Tseng sat down and entered the necessary password into the computer to access the main database on the planet's civilians. 

_This has data on nearly every single person on the planet, there's no way we can go wrong with this. Now then, let's start with John…_

Tseng entered the name "John Reeds" into the search engine and clicked "Enter", waiting for the results to arrive. What he received however, was the last thing he expected. In front of him was a red message, saying "Person Not Found."

_What?! You gotta be kidding me!_

He entered the name again, only to receive the same message.

_What the- This is impossible, how can there be no record of this guy? Did he just pop up out of nowhere?_

Frustrated after several more attempts, Tseng decided to switch his attention over to Cloud and typed in his first name, locating him quickly. As he looked at Cloud's history, one part caught his eye…

* * *

About an hour later, John and Aeris found themselves wandering around quite some distance from Kalm. Their only sign of comfort was that the shape of Midgar could still be seen, showing them that they had not wandered off too much. 

"At this rate, they'll find us before we find them," said John.

"I know, I know," said Aeris in a disappointed tone, "maybe we should have asked on where they had last been seen."

"You think Cloud has realized that we're gone?"

"I hope not. We better find those guys so we don't come back looking like idiots," said Aeris with a light laugh.

After a few more minutes, John suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" asked Aeris quietly, walking up to him.

"Shh," said John quickly as he concentrated his ears, "Quick, get down!"

Aeris wasted no time in following John's orders as he followed after her to the ground.

"I hear something over that ledge," said John, pointing ahead of them, "let's go look."

John and Aeris quietly crawled like army troopers to the edge of the small, rocky hill and looked over, somewhat delighted at what they saw. There, they saw the bandits which they had been looking for. To their luck, they seemed to have stopped to rest and their chocobo cart could be seen with them.

"We found them!" whispered Aeris with delight as she and John gripped their staffs, planning a method of attack.

* * *

At the top of Shinra Headquarters, the new President sat in his chair, looking at his watch. 

_Where is he? He should have been here ten minutes ago.__ I need to do this fast, that man is about to understand that I am the boss here, not him._

As he finished his thought, he heard footsteps and watched Hojo come up the stairs and approach the desk.

"Hello Mr. President, please forgive my lateness," said the head of the Science Department with a twisted smile.


	22. Chapter XXII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

-bob's joy: Thanks for the heads up, I fixed it :)

-Umo: Yeah, I understand that the database part might be a bit confusing, so I put a little explanation in this chapter. Hope it helps.

This chapter ended up rather long, but I have to say that I found it to be a definite improvement over the previous one and it came very naturally for me. Enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXII

At the counter in the Kalm diner, Tifa leaned over the cash register as she watched Cloud sweep the floors. He noticed her glance and looked up at her.

"…is something wrong?"

"What?" she blurted, slightly confused before regaining her composure, "No, everything's okay…."

"…you sure?"

She noticed that he had stopped sweeping to concentrate on her.

"Actually…can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," replied Cloud.

"When Sephiroth cut me…how bad was I hurt?" she asked, holding her breath.

"Really bad," said Cloud as he looked at the floor, "I didn't think that you were going to make it."

Tifa was going to speak, but she noticed someone new sit down and went over to take their order while Cloud went back to sweeping.

_Cloud…what am I going to do?_

Tifa had wanted to try to find out why Cloud's memories did not match hers and where he had really been that day, but his story had frightened her. His knowledge of the events at Mt. Nibel could have only come from travelling with her and Sephiroth. What had been even more surprising was that he remembered going into the reactor with Sephiroth, when she had only seen him go in with the other member of SOLDIER, Zack.

_I wonder what happened to him…_

* * *

Around that time, John and Aeris were watching the bandits relaxing and noticed that only three of them had weapons with them, which were long knives. 

_That means that they'll have to get close to us to hit us, so if we keep our distance we should be safe, the only problem now is their number…_ thought John.

"We should take out the ones without weapons," whispered Aeris, "If we can get them quickly enough, we'll have to fight three instead of five."

Nodding, John took out the Poison materia from his pocked and inserted it into the final slot on his staff.

"If I can poison them, we'll only have to hold out while it takes effect. Then we can round them up and take them back to Kalm."

"Yeah, but how are you going to poison all of them? And how are we going to make sure they don't escape?"

"Well, they're bandits aren't they? So they should have some rope in that cart and we can tie them up with it. As for the poison, if I don't have enough time, I'll just go for as many as I can."

Unfortunately for them, their discussion had gotten loud enough for one of the bandits to hear. Aeris looked over the edge to see that one of them was talking and pointing in their direction, causing her eyes to widen.

"They know we're here, we have to attack now!" she said as she got up and started running down the hill.

"Aeris, wait!" called John, but he was too late to stop her.

Raising her hand as she ran down the hill, Aeris launched at Matra Magic attack at the bandits, trying to hit them all. However, the bandits were too fast and were able to evade her blasts as they got up and ran in different directions. While they were distracted by Aeris's attack, John extended his staff and concentrated on the Poison materia. A chunk of green sticky substance was created and launched at one of the unarmed bandits, hitting him directly on his face and making him fall to the ground. As the thief got back up on his feet, cursing his carelessness, John was quick enough to launch another Poison spell at the second unarmed bandit, making another direct hit. With them poisoned and Aeris's attack finished, John ran down the hill to join the flower girl. As he planted his feet on the final step, he noticed that the two unarmed bandits were starting to breathe rather heavily.

_Hmm…seems like I poisoned them on the first try. Now we just have to wait until they fall, as for the others…_

"Who are you two?" asked the bandit at the center.

"…we're bounty hunters," said John with a mischievous smile, "and we've found out that there's quite a prize for your heads."

"Bounty hunters, eh?" said the bandit with a wicked smile of his own, "Well then, you seem to be outnumbered."

_Not for long… _thought John.

Without a warning, all five bandits began to rapidly advance on John and Aeris. Wasting no time, John launched an ice particle at the feet of the bandit which had been previously speaking, but he had been able to dodge it easily by doing a backflip. Aeris attempted a similar strategy as she extended her hand and launched fireball at one of the other armed thieves, but her spell was easily avoided as well. The remaining armed bandit which had not been fired at rushed at John and brought his blade down. John immediately raised his staff upwards to block the attack, which he succeeded in doing. This however, left his stomach area open and the bandit delivered a hard kick. As John instinctively moved to clutch his stomach, the bandit punched him hard in the face, sending him falling to the ground.

"John!" yelled Aeris, looking to her side to watch him fall.

This move had left Aeris vulnerable as well and one of the poisoned bandits gave her a hard kick on her stomach, sending her to the ground as well. Looking up, Aeris saw that he was getting ready to punch her again. With no time to use her staff, she raised her hands and released a fireball. While the previous bandit had been able to avoid her attack, it was impossible for this one to do so due to the range and the poison. The blast made a direct hit on the bandit's chest and sent him into a panic as he pulled it off and threw it to the ground, yelling as burns appeared on his chest. This have Aeris plenty of time to grab her staff and shoot a lightning bolt at the bandit above John as he got up. The spell was easily avoided, but it gave John enough time to get up and run over to her.

"Thanks," he said as he looked at the bandits group together and begin to advance on them, the two poisoned ones looking like they only had a few minutes of consciousness left.

"This isn't as easy as I thought it would be," said Aeris with a light laugh.

* * *

Rufus looked at Hojo carefully for a few seconds before beginning to speak. 

"How are your injuries?" he asked, noticing Hojo's neck, which still had bandages.

"I'm improving," was the only reply.

"I assume you know why I've called you here," he said, his eyes never leaving those of the scientist.

"Sephiroth came here and took the Jenova specimen, and on top of that, intruders made off with two of my most precious specimens."

"Yes well, it seems that our talk will not last for long and you can go back to recovering. I have a question for you Hojo."

Rufus waited for Hojo to give a reply, but when the only answer he received was a disturbing look, he went ahead with his question.

"What is Sephiroth planning to do?"

"What do you mean?" asked Hojo with a coy smile.

"Where is he planning to go?" asked Rufus in an annoyed tone.

"Well, that is rather complicated you see. Their eventual destination is the "reunion.""

"Reunion? What's that?" asked Rufus.

"I shall explain to you. I assume that you know of the events which occurred in Nibelheim five years ago."

"Yes, Sephiroth burnt the town to the ground and killed most of the villagers. Afterwards, Shinra Inc. rebuilt the town and put people there. Sephiroth was last seen heading towards the Nibelheim reactor, where he disappeared and until two days ago, he was presumed dead.

"Yes, but there is one part which you left out," said Hojo, "After Sephiroth disappeared, we gathered up the survivors so that they would not tell about what had occurred. Afterwards, I used them for experiments in which I injected them with Jenova cells to try to create a clone of Sephiroth and his abilities. While the cells were taking their effect, I became impatient and built a direct clone of Sephiroth using Jenova cells, Sephiroth's own blood which I had collected before he had set out for Nibelheim and combinations of human and artificial flesh."

"And what were the results?" asked an anxious Rufus.

"The experiments were failures for the most part. All of the former citizens of Nibelheim became mentally deformed and to a large extent, insane from Jenova cells. Only strong people such as members of SOLDIER can carry Jenova cells without becoming destroyed by them."

"So what did you do with them?"

"Ah, you see that's where the beauty comes in. I could have killed them and called it a day, but instead I released them at random areas over the world. You might have heard reports about a "diseased" man living in Sector five here, well he is one of them. You see, according to my reunion theory, all the cells of Jenova will eventually gather together again as one whole being. I had believed that all of them would eventually come here where Jenova was stored, but it turns out I was wrong. Now, Jenova herself has left this building and a few hours ago, I got a report that the one in Sector Five has left. If my theory is correct, they will all gather in one place sooner or later, wherever Jenova is heading."

"And where would that be?"

"I do not know, but if we keep track of the reports about the failed clones, we should find out where they are heading."

"I see, and what about that Sephiroth clone you built?" asked Rufus uneasily, causing Hojo to give his most devious smile yet.

"Ah, that. Well, once I finished building him, he was an exact replica of Sephiroth himself. Due to the vitalizing effects of the Jenova cells, it took me under a year to finish him; far less time than I had thought would be needed. However, there was one problem. He was not active."

"What do you mean?"

"You could say that he was in a coma. He breathed, but he would not wake no matter what I did. So I simply left him and stored him away."

"Where?" asked Rufus, his eyes hardening.

"In this building," said Hojo.

If Rufus had been told this at the beginning of this conversation, he would have beaten Hojo to a pulp, but he had figured this out when Hojo had said that he began building a clone. Where else could it have been kept so that nobody would find it?

"Are you meaning to tell me that my father was killed by something from this building?" he asked calmly.

"Yes, unfortunately," replied Hojo.

"In that case, where is the real Sephiroth?"

"I do not know," replied Hojo.

"You do not know?"

"As you said, he was last seen heading for the reactor at Mt. Nibel. We searched the whole reactor, but we could not locate him."

"I see…do you know where the "clone" of Sephiroth and Jenova might go at some point? About their objectives?"

For the first time, Hojo actually seemed to be thinking before he spoke.

"Well…there might be one place."

"Yes?"

"About two years ago, I tried to converse with Jenova. My attempts were unsuccessful, and most of her phrases were mumbled and impossible to decipher, except one thing."

"What?"

"She said "Cetra Temple.""

"Cetra Temple, what's that?"

"The Temple of the Ancients," said Hojo as he took out a photograph and put it in front of Rufus.

Rufus looked at the photograph to see a massive ziggurat with stairs.

"Where is it?"

"It is located in a forest on an island in the south."

"Then we'll go there and see what he wants before he gets there."

"I'm afraid it is not that easy. If it was, we would have gone in there already."

"What's the problem?" asked Rufus.

"We need the Keystone."

"Keystone?"

"Inside the first room, there is an altar which requires the Keystone. Without it, we cannot progress."

"Then where is the Keystone?"

"I don't know, there have been several investigations to find it, but all of them ended in failure."

"I see…" said Rufus, "All right Hojo, that will be enough. Thank you."

But Hojo did not move.

"Yes, is something wrong?" asked Rufus.

"…when are we going to track down the Ancient and get her back?"

"Oh that," said Rufus as he mentally rolled his eyes, "We are not going to do that, it will cost too much money and too much of our time."

"What?!" exclaimed Hojo, "But I need her!"

"Yes, but I don't," said Rufus calmly with a smile, "And I am the leader here, not you. However important my father considered her capture to be, it does not matter now. Besides, it would only bring trouble back here if we caught her."

"But-"

"Hojo, why don't you take a nice vacation for a while until I need you again?" said Rufus in a bored voice.

With that Hojo simply turned around started to walk down the stairs.

_So close…and they let her get away! Hmm…I better store that blood I took from her…_

* * *

John rushed at the leftmost thief and swung his staff sideways, but failed to land a blow and just managed to dodge one himself. This had been the scenario for most of the battle. The two poisoned bandits had fallen very soon, but the other three were much more difficult. Their speed along gave them an advantage which was helped by the fact that neither John nor Aeris were very skilled with the staff. 

_I bet Cloud would laugh if he was here…_thought John as he was tripped by the bandit after he had tried to swing at his head and missed.

Aeris was in a similar situation as she swung her staff and managed to make a cut along one of the bandit's torso, but she had put so much of her weight into the attack that she lost balance afterwards and left her back exposed. Consequently she was kicked hard by one of the other bandits and sent face first into the ground. As she got up and spit out dirt and a little bit of blood from a cut in her mouth from the impact, she noticed a shadow above her. Looking behind her, she noticed the bandit with a blade, ready to pierce her back. However, the bandit never got the chance as he was hit by an ice projectile and fell over. Aeris looked to her right to see John, who had somehow managed to trip his attacker and get on his feet. He launched another projectile at the remaining bandit near Aeris and although it missed, it gave John enough time to get to the flower girl and help her up.

"Thanks," she said as she gave out a heavy sigh and gripped her staff, looking over at the three bandits who seemed tired, but not as much as them.

"We can't win like this," said John as he cast a cure spell which healed some of their cuts and lightened their bruises, "We have to try another strategy."

"…I have an idea," said Aeris as she put her staff down and took a few steps forward.

"Aeris-" John began before he saw her raise her arms and give a mischievous smile at the bandits.

_Oh, I get what she's going to do…_

Aeris momentarily lowered her right arm to give a motion with her finger to signal the bandits to come closer. Afterwards she raised it and her hands began to glow a light purple. The bandits didn't seem to be affected and began to run forward. The purple light on Aeris's hands shot off her body to her right and left and turned into floating needles. As the bandits got closer she bent her arms backwards before rapidly bringing them in front of her, sending the purple needles flying at the bandits. John remembered the Seal Evil attack to simply paralyze the opponents after a flash, but her it was slightly different. There was no flash; the needles simply went at their opponents and embedded themselves into the bandits, freezing them in their path. She then slowly brought her hands into fists and as she did that, the needles went further into the bandits. When she was finished, the bandits all lost consciousness and fell to the ground, dropping their weapons. John ran up to check on them to make sure that they were indeed out of it. Looking back at Aeris as she lowered her hands, he gave a nod.

"I don't know how long they'll stay unconscious; I never tried that on a person before."

"I'll go look for some rope," said John as he ran over to the chocobo cart and looked inside.

After hearing the sound of objects being moved, Aeris saw John get out of the cart with a smile and long pieces of rope.

"I got it," he said as he gave some to her, "I'll tie up these three, you do the other two."

Aeris gave a nod and took the rope, getting down to work. Once they were finished tying the bandits up, they dragged them over to the cart and put them inside.

"Okay then," said Aeris with one of her smiles as she looked over at John, "that takes care of that."

"Yeah, we did!" said John with excitement.

"Now what then?" asked Aeris.

"I guess we'll take this thing back to Kalm," said John.

"Have you ever ridden a chocobo?"

"No, but there's a first time for everything," said John as he went over to the chocobo and got in the front seat of the cart, "Come up here, there's plenty of room."

Aeris wasted no time in climbing up from the other side and sitting down next to John.

"Okay then, let's see if I can do this right," he said as he pulled on the left strap, causing the chocobo to slowly walk, but in the wrong direction.

John looked to his right to see Aeris covering her mouth as she giggled.

"You know, you're not helping," he said as he started to pull on the other strap.

"Sorry," she said with a giggle as she leaned back in her seat.

It took several more tries before John was finally able to get the chocobo to start in the correct direction at a reasonable pace.

"All right!" he exclaimed, "Here we go…"

* * *

A while later in Kalm, the sun was beginning to set and Cloud and Tifa had finished their job. Walking out of the diner, they saw Barret and Red waiting for them. 

"Did you guys help with the construction?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah," replied Barret," I carried parts around and Red looked in the tight spots to make sure that everything was balanced."

"Where are John and Aeris?" asked Red.

"We don't know," said Tifa, "Let's go look for them."

The group of four walked over to the center of town and turned to a random man.

"Excuse me sir, have you seen two people around here? A guy in a red shirt and a girl in a pink dress?" asked Tifa.

"Oh them," said the man as he lowered his eyes and gave out a sigh.

"What is it? Is something wrong with them?" asked Cloud in a concerned tone.

"Well, when I saw them last, they were looking at that poster over there, then they ran out of the gate…"

"They left the town?!" exclaimed Tifa, alarmed, "What's that poster?"

"Why don't you go and see?" was the last thing the man said before walking away.

The team wasted no time in running over to the poster and staring at it, upon which the color from Tifa's face disappeared.

"Oh god, you don't think-" she began.

"Yea," said Barret, "they went after those guys."

"Well then, we have to go after them, they could be in trouble," said Cloud before turning around and heading for the gate.

"Cloud, wait!" called Tifa, "listen."

Stopping and following Tifa's suggestion, Cloud heard something approaching. Slowly, he stepped away from the gate and back to the rest of the group.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Tifa.

They waited, eyeing the entrance carefully as the sound got closer. A chocobo cart entered the town and Cloud's pupils widened when he saw who was at the sitting in front of the cart, controlling the chocobo.

"Hey, Cloud, guess what? We were bounty hunters for the day," said John with a smile as he took the cart closer to the center, where a crowd had gathered.

Cloud looked over to the others, who had equally bewildered looks on their faces.

"So uhh…I guess we won't have any money problems for a while," said Tifa with an embarrassed smile.

"Yeah…" said Cloud as he and the others began to walk over to where the crowd was.

The mayor of Kalm had arrived as well and as the local authorities took the bandits, he shook hands and congratulated both John and Aeris, who were smiling with glee at their accomplishment. Cloud noticed that neither John nor Aeris had escaped unscathed, bruises and scratches could be seen on both of their arms and faces, but they didn't seem to mind. To them, they seemed like really cool battle scars to show off.

"What do you want to do?" asked Red.

"Nothing," said Cloud as he smiled, "They deserve this, let them enjoy it."

After a while, the crowd had died down and John and Aeris went over to the mayor's house to get the reward. As they walked back into the main square, they saw the others waiting for them, Cloud still smiling.

"So you two had quite a day then?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that…" started Aeris before she began to tell them about their adventure as the six of them walked to the inn.

* * *

Later that evening, Rufus Shinra was sitting in his office, musing about the funeral tomorrow which he wished was already over when Tseng walked up the stairs into his office, carrying several files. 

"So did you find anything?" asked Rufus, some excitement showing in his voice, "Take a seat, I set up a chair for you."

"Thanks," said Tseng as he sat down, "You're more considerate than your father. Anyway, to answer your question, yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"First of all, John. There is nothing," said Tseng.

"What do you mean "nothing"? There's no information in the database?" asked Rufus, surprised.

"He does not exist in the database. I tried several times, he's simply not there."

"What?! But that's impossible. Any hospital or morgue which uses power from Shinra has to give us names of those born or deceased there. Every single mayor or town leader knows that they have to report to us when something happens to someone. We should at least have his name, or a relative."

"I tried that. There's nobody that's related to him. I checked the family tree of everyone with the last name Reeds, he's not there. Are you sure that he told you his true name?"

"Yes, I'm sure," replied Rufus, "He was honest about that. But what does it mean?"

"I don't know, I'm as surprised as you are. I was thinking that he might have been an illegitimate birth, but then there would be some trail at least. But I just typed in his name and hit a wall."

"That's strange, very strange," said Rufus as he ran his fingers through his hair, "All right then, we'll leave him for now. What did you find about the others?"

Tseng smiled as he took the two topmost files from the stack, leaving four.

"These two are from the leader of AVALANCHE and that specimen that escaped with them. We'll move on to the rest after that."

"But there are four files…" said Rufus as he looked at the remaining stack.

"I know, don't worry about that for now, you'll understand first."

Tseng opened Red's file and showed it to Rufus, explaining it.

"Apparently, Hojo was right to prize him so much. He's part on an old tribe from Cosmo Canyon which has amazing life expectancy. They have also been believed to be extinct for about 43 years after an attack from an enemy tribe."

"So then he's-"

"Probably the last one. He was probably born just before the attack. When you do the math, he only comes out to be in his mid-teens by our standards."

"Amazing…"

Tseng then opened Barret's file.

"Okay, here things get more interesting for us. This man, Barret, is from Corel."

"Corel?!" exclaimed Rufus, "Isn't that place-"

"Yes, it's used as a prison now. He managed to survive the attack on the town. And if that was not enough, guess whose fault it is that he's got a gun on his arm."

Rufus skimmed down the page before his eyes went wide.

"Scarlet!"

"Yeah, I'm sure she doesn't want anyone to know that she gave birth to the leader of AVALANCHE."

Rufus then closed the two files and gave them back to Tseng, who put them aside.

"All right then, you decide which one of the remaining three you want to look at first," said Tseng rather anxiously.

"Hmm…let's start with the Ancient, Aeris."

"All right," said Tseng as he put her file in front of Rufus, "Her file was password protected, but I had it, all the Turks who were sent after her do."

Rufus only needed to open the page for shock to be sent through his eyes again as he read her last name.

"Aeris GAST?!!!"

Tseng was extremely surprised by Rufus's action as he spoke.

"I thought you knew."

"No, I did not," said Rufus, his breath short, "I never knew Professor Gast had a daughter. Does she know?"

"No," said Tseng, "She doesn't."

"What a shame," said Rufus as he raised his eyes to the ceiling, "Her father was probably the greatest scientist who ever walked the planet and she is unaware of that. She's 22…that means that she wasn't even a year old when Hojo killed Gast."

"Y-you knew that?"

"I guessed it a long time ago, back when I was still a teenager," said Rufus as he brought his eyes back down, "It's one of the main reasons I despise that man. I blame him for the fact that I will never speak to Professor Gast."

"Rufus…do you know how exactly Hojo killed Gast?"

"No…"

"Gast fled Shinra after he met an Ancient woman, Ifalna on one of his trips. They went to Icicle Inn, where he began to interview her. She told him many things about the Planet, the Ancients and Jenova. Along the way, they fell in love and had a baby, that baby was Aeris. But Hojo found out where they were. Gast and Ifalna tried to resist, but Hojo killed him and captured Ifalna and Aeris. She was only ten days old…"

Rufus's eyes were wider than ever now with sympathy for Aeris and hatred for Hojo.

"What happened after that?" asked Rufus.

"Well, this is what I heard from the other scientists who were here at that time. Hojo was ruthless in his experiments. Over time, Ifalna became weaker and weaker. She tried to shield Aeris as much as she could. Finally, they somehow managed to escape one night…Ifalna's body was discovered the next morning on the steps at the Sector Five Station, Aeris was gone. I think you know the rest."

Rufus slowly nodded as he regained his composure and looked at Tseng.

"Then I've done the right thing by not sending anyone to capture her again. The further she is from Hojo, the better. I think you'll agree."

After receiving a nod from Tseng, Rufus looked over at the remaining files.

"Okay, let's look at Cloud now."

"This is an interesting one," said Tseng as he put the file in front of Rufus and opened it, waiting for him to read.

After reading the contents in the middle several times over, Rufus furrowed his brows in frustration.

"This doesn't make sense…why does it say that he was an MP?"

"Because that's what he was, he was never a member of SOLDIER."

"He went to Nibelheim…his hometown…with Sephiroth! And afterwards…he disappears for five years? How can- unless…"

And then it hit him.

"Hojo!"

"What?" asked Tseng, rather startled.

"When I spoke to Hojo today, he said that he took the survivors from Nibelheim and experimented on them."

"Oh, that…" said Tseng as he reached for another file and placed it in front of Rufus, "Here, look at Tifa's file. She's from there as well."

Rufus glanced over the file before speaking.

"So…she somehow managed to escape, because it says here that she was already running a bar here when she was seventeen, while Cloud and the others were getting experimented on. But Hojo told me that the people degenerated after that, why is Cloud still healthy if he was just an MP?"

Rufus went back to the file and re-read it carefully.

"He went to Nibelheim with General Sephiroth and First Class SOLDIER…Zack Fair? Who's Zack Fair?"

He looked up at Tseng, who was smiling and patting the remaining file, before he took it and handed it over to Rufus. As he opened the file, Rufus's eyes went wide once more as he looked at the picture.

"That sword…"

"Yes…it is likely the same sword that Cloud is now carrying. Read it."

Rufus just looked at how long Zack had lived before asking a question.

"Wait a second; he died about a week ago?"

"That's not all," said Tseng with a smile, "Continue."

Rufus continued reading down until he reached the end and started to chuckle.

""Escaped with an accomplice" from Shinra Mansion after spending five years there and killed outside this very town but his friend was left alive "because of mental instability, which does not render him as a threat""

He looked over at Tseng, who was still smiling.

"They didn't check the name of the other person, so only Zack's file was updated."

"So then, let's review," said Rufus, "Zack was the SOLDIER who went to Nibelheim with Sephiroth five years ago and Cloud was just an MP who went along. Then, after everything happened Sephiroth disappeared, Tifa somehow escaped and Cloud and Zack here were taken in for experimenting. Assuming that they got this far, I'll say that their experimentation was probably different judging by how Cloud looked and the fact that Zack was able to get both of them this far. Five years later, they somehow escape and for some reason, decide to come here, but soldiers, our soldiers, find them and kill Zack, who tries to resist. Cloud on the other hand, seems to be so out of it that they think that if they leave him he'll die by himself. But no, he somehow finds the strength to get Zack's sword, enter Midgar and start blowing up reactors with AVALANCHE. And if that wasn't enough, his mind is so warped that he thinks that he used to be in SOLDIER."

"Quite a story, isn't it?" asked Rufus, still smiling as Rufus looked at him.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

"Well…it's not much, but before Zack went to Nibelheim, he was stationed here in Midgar and dated Aeris."

"Unbelievable…" began Rufus under his breath, "Then she might have been why they were coming here."

Tseng only nodded in response before Rufus spoke again.

"So the only person who doesn't seem to fit in with everything is John…"

"Yeah…"

After a short silence, Tseng spoke up.

"What did you find out from Hojo?"

After Rufus had finished about what had happened between him and Hojo, Tseng began to talk again.

"So we're heading to Junon then to catch Sephiroth?"

"Eventually, first I want you to meet up with Cloud and the others, but DON'T tell them or anyone else about these files and what we discussed, not even the other Turks, understand?"

"Yes," said Tseng, "Where should we see Cloud?"

"They'll have to pass through the Mythril Mine if they want to get anywhere, so you can probably meet them there, but don't fight them. Just see how they are and then report to me."

"What will you be doing?"

"I'll take a trip across the sea as well to try to find something, maybe a way to chase Sephiroth faster. Anyways, I can't stay trapped in this office."

Tseng nodded again before asking another question.

"What about Cloud? How will you keep track of him and the others?"

Rufus looked at Tseng and smiled.

"I already figured out how I'm going to do that. Remember when you told me that Reeve was working on some kind of remote controlled being?"

* * *

Late that night, Tifa and Aeris were in their bedroom in their beds with the lights out, but neither of them could sleep for different reasons. While Aeris was still giddy from her adventure with John, Tifa seemed to be somber. 

"Tifa?"

"Hm?"

"Is everything…okay? You seem to be kind of…down."

"I'm fine Aeris," said Tifa rather quickly, "I think…sorry."

"Don't worry about it," said Aeris with a smile, "What are you worrying about?"

"Many things…many things,"

"You remember it, don't you?"

"What?" asked Tifa, slightly confused.

"Sephiroth…"

"There's no way for me not to remember, I remember it every day…"

"…how?" asked Aeris.

"…I'll show you."

Tifa got up and took off her nightgown, causing Aeris to gasp at what she saw.

There was a massive scar on Tifa's chest, from her left shoulder to under her right breast.

"Oh Tifa…I'm sorry…"

"It's nothing really," said Tifa as she got dressed again, "I usually brush it off as something that happened in the past, but now with this journey and Cloud…"

"Tifa…was there ever…something between you and Cloud?"

"What?!" asked Tifa, surprised, "No, there wasn't. In fact, we didn't really speak through most of our childhoods."

"You didn't?"

"No…he was always pretty quiet and kept to himself. I didn't give him much thought back then, but now…I think he was pretty lonely. He found it so hard to connect with someone else…I think John's the first."

"John?"

"Yeah…I've never seen Cloud get along with someone the way he does with John, I don't know what it is about him."

"John's a likeable guy for the most part," said Aeris.

"Yeah, of course he is," said Tifa, "But he's just so…mysterious… It's like he's hiding something."

"Really?" asked Aeris, "I haven't noticed that. He seems to be in thought a lot at times, but I don't really see him as hiding something."

Tifa opened her mouth to speak again when a sound was heard from outside. She quickly rushed over to the window and peeked outside before looking back at Aeris.

"Come here."

Aeris walked up next to Tifa and looked outside the window, shocked at what she saw. There, on a black chocobo, was John, leaving Kalm into the night. When his figure was out of sight behind the wall, Aeris spoke again.

"Tifa…I stand corrected."

However, neither of the women had seen the other side of the chocobo, where John was holding an object which could have either given them a hint of what he was about to do, or confuse them even further.

A shovel.

* * *

John held on to the straps with all his might, he had left his staff back at the inn, deciding to test his luck. Luck turned out to be on his side as he saw no monsters anywhere near him in the black of the night. Looking ahead, he saw the figure of Midgar get closer and closer. 

_I have to be crazy for doing this, but still… it has to be done! It's the right thing!_

The experience with the chocobo cart earlier that day seemed to be baby steps compared to this. Zeke was a racing chocobo and his speed was unbelievable. John held on tight with his hands and knees so that he would not be thrown off onto the rocky ground. When he thought that he was close enough, he stopped the Chocobo and started to go at a slower pace around the city, scanning the area around him as well as he could in the dark.

_C'mon…it's gotta be somewhere here…_

Suddenly, John saw a small ledge and knew that he had found it. He stopped the chocobo and got off, taking the shovel with him.

"Stay here Zeke, I'll just be over there for a while and then I'll come back."

John took a deep breath before he started to walk forward. As he got closer, he knew that he had found it. The damage done was brutal, there were multiple bullet wounds across his chest, the blood long dried and his face was beginning to sink in, but it was still recognizable. This was it, the body of the one who had unfortunately died. Cloud's friend and Aeris's first love: Zack. John looked at him for a few minutes silently before speaking.

"You deserve this."

With that, John began to dig. He dug for what seemed like an eternity, his strength seeming to be endless with his determination. Every now and then, he would look back at the corpse and be filled with newfound purpose to finish his task. When he was finished digging, he lightly took the week-old corpse and placed it in the grave. As he stood above it, getting to do the final step, he began to speak again.

"I don't really know why I'm doing this…I never knew you. I never even had a chance, or did I? If I came out here when I first arrived instead of to Tifa, could I have saved you? I don't know…and I'm not sure I'll ever know. But this is the least I can do; send you off as best as I can under the circumstances."

John stopped for a second before resuming.

"I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're listening. If you are, then understand this. You can rest in peace now; I'll take care of everything. I'll make sure that Cloud gets back his memory, I'll make sure that Tifa doesn't have to worry anymore."

He took a deep breath before continuing and exhaled.

"And I'll make sure that Aeris gets to live her life and I promise to tell her what happened to you, that you were coming back to her. You would have wanted that…and it's what I want."

With that, John began to put the dirt back in, covering up the dead body of Zack Fair. When he was finally finished, John looked at the ground for about a minute before turning around and getting back on the chocobo. He turned around to take one last look at the grave without a name.

"Good bye."

John turned around and pulled on both straps, disappearing from the area as fast as he had come.


	23. Chapter XXIII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Like all the times before, thanks to all who read the last chapter and a special thanks to all who reviewed.

All right then, after two and a half months, I managed to find time to finish this chapter. I'm exchanging the PHS system for cellphones, because if you know what a PHS is, it's a miracle that they were able to communicate at all using them during the game. Enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXIII

"John, wake up."

John slightly opened his eyes and shut them after seeing Cloud since they were irritated by the sunlight. He had managed to get back without being seen the previous night, but the trip had taken a lot out of him.

"What is it?"

"We have to go eat, we want to buy everything and leave before noon."

_Before noon…Geez! _

"Uhh…I don't feel very hungry, why don't you guys go and I'll sleep a bit more? I promise I'll be up soon."

"Okay," said Cloud after a slight pause, "but be ready in about an hour. We can't let Sephiroth get too far ahead of us."

"Gotcha," said John as he turned over and firmly shut his eyes.

_Ugh, I did your job last night man, show some respect…_

* * *

"Well, where's John?" asked Barret as Cloud got to the bottom of the stairs. 

"He said he doesn't want to eat and that he'll meet up with us later," said Cloud as he walked out of the inn and started walking towards the tunnel.

"I'm not surprised," said Tifa, looking over at Aeris who slowly nodded as the rest of the team walked next to Cloud.

"Hm? What are you talking about?" asked a confused Cloud.

"John took a little trip last night," said Aeris after a slight pause.

"What?! Where?"

"I don't know," said Tifa, "He left on a black chocobo at some point after midnight. Aeris and I waited for a while, but we went to sleep before he came back apparently."

"What were you two doing up so late?" asked Cloud.

"Talking," replied Aeris quickly before anyone could comment.

"Ok…" said Cloud, rather confused once more.

_Might be better not to push that…_

"Hmm…a black chocobo. They're hard to find," said Barret, "Do you know where he got it?"

"I saw him talking to someone yesterday now that you mention it," said Tifa, "He looked like one of those jockeys from Gold Saucer."

"When did you see this?" asked Cloud as they entered the diner.

"When we were coming back from breakfast yesterday. Right before you started telling your story."

"Why didn't you mention this sooner?" asked Cloud, slightly annoyed now.

"I didn't think it was that important…" said Tifa as she lowered her voice, knowing that she had been wrong.

"What are we going to do then?" asked Red as the others took seats.

"We'll wait for him to get up and then ask about it," replied Cloud.

_It's pretty much the only thing we can do…_

* * *

A hand slammed down on the top of an alarm clock as irritated eyes opened to see the sunlight. 

_Ugh, I would have preferred to stay at the hotel instead of my father's room here at headquarters, but with the press active now…_

This room was a private elevator or staircase away from the president's office, so luckily the new leader of Shinra wouldn't have to worry about being late for work.

_Still smells too much like him though…_

Rufus stood up and went over to the window to see the city of Midgar and beyond in the direction of Kalm.

_They're out there, so close and yet so far…__ If that Ancient girl is smart, then she's getting as far away from here as she can…_

Rufus gave a slight chuckle at Hojo's anger the previous night before going into the bathroom and stepping into the shower.

_B__est not to think about them for the moment… _he continued thinking as hot water hit his face and body, _Today's the funeral and I'll have to put on my best act to survive it…_

* * *

Walking out of the inn, John started to walk in the direction of the diner when he saw familiar figures exiting the tunnel. To his dismay, none of them looked to happy and Cloud appeared to give a sigh. 

_Uh-oh…_ thought John in the back of his mind as he slowed down and waited for them to approach him.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"John, where did you go last night?" asked Cloud bluntly.

John's eyes widened as he stammered to come up with an answer and failing.

"Wh-what?"

_How do they know about that?_

"Aeris and Tifa saw you head out on a chocobo last night," said Cloud, looking rather impatient, "Tifa also saw you talking to a jockey yesterday."

"Oh that…" said John, pretending to relax, "It was nothing…"

"What do you mean "it was nothing"?" asked Cloud suspiciously, "What were you doing?"

_I was doing what you were supposed to do!_

"I told you, it was nothing much. I just had to do something, ok?"

Cloud didn't take his eyes off John for a few seconds after that, trying to figure out what John wanted to hide.

_Is it about those voices? Maybe it's best to not ask in front of the others then__… Besides, who knows how long we might be on the road, it's best not to start off on a sour note…_

"All right then, I'll believe you…" said Cloud, trying to sound rather certain.

John looked over at Tifa and then at Aeris, both of which seemed to be as curious as Cloud.

"Oh uhh…same here," said Tifa with a slight smile to reassure John.

_I was the one who brought him into all this…I shouldn't try to make him look bad…_

"Yeah…" said Aeris, trying to keep the lighthearted attitude that she was known for.

After looking at Barret and Red, who seemed to be okay with everything as well, John smiled.

"All right then, now that that's sorted out…" he began, looking at Cloud to continue.

_Sorted out? What do you mean sorted out? _thought Cloud with a mental groan.

"We need to pick up supplies for the road, who knows when we'll find beds again. There's a chocobo ranch at some point, but I don't know how long it'll take us to get there."

"We won't get there tonight, that's for sure," said Barret.

"Then let's hurry so we can cover as much ground as we can before nightfall," said Cloud.

"How much money do we have to spend?" asked Tifa.

"We have plenty, thanks to John and Aeris," said Cloud, trying to keep his voice down although he could sense the two named individuals smirk.

* * *

On the outskirts of the marshlands, two figures stopped to look ahead. 

"Once we get across this land, we shall be at the entrance of the Mythril Mine," explained Sephiroth.

"It seems that we were successful in creating a larger distance between Cloud and us," remarked Jenova.

"Yes," said Sephiroth as he began to walk into the marsh with Jenova behind him.

Elsewhere, a large serpent sensed prey in the distance.

_Hmm…there seems to be something else here_commented Sephiroth mentally to himself, _Looks like this won't be as boring as I thought it would be…_

* * *

John rushed into the weapons store and looked at the available swords. Most seemed to be oversized or too complex for him to use, so he bought a Mythril Saber along with a scabbard, looking over at Cloud and smiling as he put it on over his back and tried not to seem too affected by the addition of the extra weight. 

_This is going to be the end of me…_ thought Cloud in the back of his mind.

Aeris and Tifa were standing over in the corner, trying to hold back giggles as they looked at John and his smile, especially Aeris.

"It's like looking at a toddler in a suit," commented Aeris as she bit down on her tongue.

Tifa could only nod as she was red in the face, having forgotten what had happened a few minutes ago.

"Oh come on, it doesn't look that bad, does it?" asked John as he walked over to them.

"No, it's not that," said Tifa as she tried to calm herself down, "It's just uhh… new."

"Yeah, that's it," said Aeris as she looked away, "New…"

"Cloud?" asked John, trying to find some reassurance.

"…don't use it in battle for a while until you get the basics down. There's a difference between fighting with a sword and a staff."

"Ok…"

_That's it? No manly encouragement? Oh well, guess I was hoping for too much, it is Cloud after all…_

"Ahem," stepped in Barret, "If you're done, the rest of us have to get equipment too."

"Right…" said John as he stepped aside and Barret approached the counter.

When they were finished at the Weapon and Materia Stores, Barret had sold his Titan Bangle and bought a Mythril Armlet and Tifa had changed her Metal Knuckle for a Mythril Claw. They also bought two Earth materias and two Heal materias. Aeris and Red equipped the Heal materias to their weapons while John placed an Earth materia in his armlet and Cloud placed the other one in is sword.

"Is that enough?" asked Red.

"I guess so," replied Cloud, "I was hoping to pick up another Restore materia, but it looks like they don't have any."

Then, they headed over to the item shop where they bought five of each item available, to have a healthy supply, except the tents, of which they bought eight.

"Okay people, we have to make good use of these," said Cloud, "If all of them fall apart and we're in the middle of nowhere…"

"Yeah, we get the picture," said Tifa as they walked over to look at backpacks to carry everything and sleeping bags. They ended up buying five backpacks, one for each two-legged member.

"I'm sorry…" said Red as he looked down at the floor.

"Don't worry about it," said Aeris, "Barret will be more than happy to carry your sleeping bag along with his, won't you Barret?"

Barret grunted something which seemed like a "yes" to Aeris so she turned back to Red with a smile.

"See?"

After buying a few more basic supplies and emergency clothes and undergarments, Cloud spoke up.

"All right everyone, are we ready to go?"

Receiving a nod from the rest of the team, Cloud nodded back and walked out of the shop with the rest behind him. As they walked towards the entrance, Tifa suddenly stopped and ran towards the inn.

"Just a sec, I gotta get something."

Less than a minute later, Tifa returned with cellphones for everyone.

"All right, I got one for everyone so we can keep in contact if we get separated. Red, I can carry yours for most of the time, okay? Just so that it's easier for you"

"Sure…" said Red.

_W__hat would I do with a cellphone anyways?_

"We're ready," said Tifa.

Cloud nodded before all six of them walked out of the gates.

* * *

Rufus entered a large church in Sector Four and walked down the aisle, eyes on the casket in the middle. 

_If it was up to me, I wouldn't be here today._

Stopping once he reached it, he looked down and opened it up, taking a look at his father's corpse. As Rufus sifted through his thoughts, he heard the door open and someone else walk in.

"You're early Rufus," said Tseng as he walked towards him, "The funeral doesn't start for another two hours."

Rufus stayed silent as Tseng looked at the body as well.

"Isn't there something you want to do?" asked Tseng.

Rufus looked at the ceiling for a few moments before looking at the body again.

"I would spit on this if there wasn't a chance of someone else opening it afterwards, even if it is a closed casket funeral."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," sighed Tseng.

"Then what did you mean Tseng?" asked Rufus sarcastically.

"Look, my father wasn't someone I liked either, but when he died, I forgave him for everything he did, for everything that I considered a shortcoming. I think that you should do the same."

"You think?!" exclaimed Rufus as he looked over at Tseng.

"Is it that hard for you to do this? Was he that neglectful?"

"It's…" began Rufus before going over to the closest seats and sitting down with Tseng next to him, "It's not just that."

"…"

"When my mother got sick and they found out that it was terminal, she stopped existing to him. I had to watch her slowly die and he didn't even look at her once Tseng, not even once."

"…"

"And to make it worse, she never blamed him for anything. I'd ask her to talk to him, but she said that that was the way he was and that there was no changing him and that she didn't mind! She didn't mind being treated like she was invisible!"

"But you did…"

"Of course I did!" exclaimed Rufus, trying to stay as calm as he could, "When…when she died, I had to go into his office and tell him. And he waited until he was finished with his paperwork and only then did he call in people from a morgue to take her. He never even left that office that day, he had to answer calls and decide on the future of Shinra while they took her away."

A period of silence that seemed much longer to both men than what it was in reality followed before Tseng spoke again.

"…how old were you?"

"I was eleven."

"I see now…"

"What?" asked Rufus.

"That's why you had so much sympathy towards Aeris when I told you about Gast and Ifalna last night, isn't that right?"

Rufus only replied with a nod, knowing it was true.

"Listen," began Tseng, "You should tell her that one day."

"What makes you think that she'll listen?" scoffed Rufus, "I've never even spoken to her. And after how my father treated her, I'm sure that she's just dying to get to know me."

"Oh, she'll listen, and she'll understand…"

Tseng then got up and started to walk towards the door.

"I'll be back in a while; I have to meet up with the others."

With that, Tseng quietly left, leaving Rufus alone with his thoughts and sorrows.

* * *

Sephiroth walked silently through the marsh, his senses acute to his surroundings, especially one which was getting closer. 

"Mother, please step back."

"Is it necessary to do this? The entrance is very near, we could save time by just going ahead," said Jenova.

"Don't worry, this won't take long and besides, we've got time to spare," said Sephiroth as he unsheathed his sword.

He stood silently as a nearly non-detectable sound grew louder and louder. In a few seconds, the Midgar Zolom jumped out of the marsh and longed towards Sephiroth, attempting to swallow him whole, but ended up missing its smaller opponent completely he jumped out of the way.

_Looks like someone's hungry… _thought Sephiroth.

Irritated, the Midgar Zolom tried to attack, but Sephiroth was faster once again and delivered a powerful slash to the serpent's side, causing blood to gush out. This sent the Zolom into a wild rage as it tried to land a blow, but all of them didn't even touch Sephiroth. Soon enough, the serpent slowed down and started to pant from the loss of blood as its vision became blurry.

_Is that all?_

Sephiroth was ready to deliver the final blow, but decided to hold his victory off after noticing that the snake was concentrating to charge a magic attack as a final effort.

_It would be rude to kill __it without letting him take his best shot…_

With that thought in mind Sephiroth lowered his left arm which held the Masamune and extended his right as he set up a Wall spell, creating a multicolored shield around himself. The temperature outside the barrier rose to such heights that most would have been choking, but Sephiroth barely felt anything. To him, the outside world seemed to have red overtone for a few seconds and that was it. When the spell was finished, Sephiroth lowered his magical defense, but kept his right arm extended towards the exhausted Zolom and smiled. In less than a second, a lightning bolt shot out of Sephiroth's palm and hit the ground in front of the Zolom, the resulting force catapulting the giant snake into the air. Once it was at its highest point, Sephiroth flew up and delivered a hard kick to its side, sending it plummeting downwards. However, it would never touch the ground as the Zolom fell onto a tree in front of the entrance to the Mythril Mine and was impaled. Sephiroth flew down and watches the snake attempted to writhe and free itself during its final agonizing moments on the Planet, but ultimately failed as it halted into death.

"There we go, that wasn't so long now, was it?" he asked as he wiped the serpent's blood of the Masamune and sheathed it.

Receiving no answer from Jenova, he looked back and smiled.

"Let's go," he said as he walked into the mine with Jenova behind him.

_Hmm…there are likely more of those snakes around, meaning that Cloud and his friends will have to fight one if they wish to follow me… Excellent, this can work out perfectly… _thought Sephiroth with a smile.

* * *

While Sephiroth and Jenova were progressing rather slowly through the Mythril Mine, their pursuers had already been on the road for an extended period of time and sunset was beginning to show its first signs. Cloud was walking a visible distance ahead of the others and decided to look back to see how his comrades were doing. 

_They seem to be holding up pretty well, I guess John is learning how to function with minimal sleep…_

The first day on the road was rather quiet aside from the occasional battle with the monsters or Aeris remarking about how beautiful the nature was.

_Damn, girl never really got out much other than Wall Market, did she?_thought Barret to himself.

After another hour of walking, Cloud stopped and looked back once again.

"Barret, how much distance until we reach the ranch?"

"Hmm…at this rate, we'll probably make it there by nightfall tomorrow."

"Tomorrow…" remarked Cloud as he looked around himself at the surroundings and the terrain.

"All right then, we'll camp here tonight. There are mountains around us which limit the directions from which danger can probably come," he announced.

"'Kay, I'll go hunting for some food," said Barret as he took off his pack and started to walk away.

"I'll go too, he might need backup," said Red as he ran up to Barret.

"Now what?" asked John a few minutes later after Barret and Red seemed a reasonable distance away.

"Now," said Cloud with a light smile as he took off his pack, "I'll begin to teach you how to use a sword."

"All right!" remarked John excitedly as he removed his pack and unsheathed his sword, placing his staff down on the ground.

"This should be interesting," said Aeris over to Tifa, who only gave a short and quiet laugh as both of them took off their backpacks and sat down.

"All right, your first mistake," said Cloud as he placed the Hardedge on the ground and removed his Buster Sword from his back, "You're not standing correctly."

"What?" asked John, not understanding what he was doing wrong.

"You have to balance your weight. You're standing like you usually do when you're fighting with a staff. You can't do that until you're quite experienced."

John slowly shifted his stance and held the Mythril Saber with both hands.

"Now then, let's see how you can defend yourself," said Cloud before he rushed at John.

The quick attack took John by surprise as he moved the blade to block Cloud's slash. Cloud tried once more, this time aiming at John's head, but that was blocked as well.

_Hey, I'm not doing so b-_

John's thought's were cut short as Cloud delivered a hard kick to his stomach and sent him falling back.

"Okay, that's been your biggest error every time I've seen you fight," commented Cloud, "You always leave your stomach exposed and that leaves you vulnerable."

"Yeah, gotcha," said John as he slowly got up and took his stance again.

* * *

"…and now to say a few words in his father's memory, Rufus Shinra." 

Rufus seemed to snap out of a trance that he had been in for most of the funeral.

_I can't believe I have to do this…_

He slowly got up and walked over to the microphone, looking out at the people who had come to "pay respects" to the late President Shinra, as well as the TV cameras.

_The same old fatcats whose names I'll have to learn soon…_

"When most people think of the late President Shinra, the first image that comes to them is that of a ruthless businessman."

_They're not the only ones…_

"But today, I'd like to talk about a different man, my father."

Rufus moved his eyes to the front, where the Turks were sitting and momentarily locked eyes with Tseng.

"He was a man that most did not get to see…"

_Because there was nothing to see…_

"A kind man who cared for his family and their well being…"

_Bullshit…_

"Maybe if more people had seen this man, the public would have had a better perception of my father than they did while he was alive…"

_Don't think so…_

"A few individuals here were fortunate enough to meet this man and I know that you would agree with my words…"

_Because you don't have another choice…_

"So let us bid farewell to my father with this knowledge…"

_Yeah right, everyone here knows the truth…_

"Knowing that he will live on in our hearts and minds…"

_Though I'm not quite thrilled about that…_

"…for as long as we live."

_It's not easy to let go Tseng, it's not easy at all…_

"Thank you," finished Rufus before leaving the stand and sitting back down.

_There we go…hard part's over…right?_


	24. Chapter XXIV

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

So it's been ages since the last update, but I have been really busy in the meantime. Writing this chapter was a bit wierd for me. The first scene would have gone better at the end of the last chapter, so I might move if I ever to a re-edit. This was supposed to be a bit longer as well, but I decided to save the fight with the Zolom for the next chapter and put it together with the Mythril Mine. Enjoy & Happy Holidays!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXIV

"Well, we're finally on the road," said Aeris with a smile as she finished her meal and leaned back against her arms, staring at the sky and enjoying the warmth of the fire.

"I keep forgetting that this is the first time on the road for you Aeris," said Cloud as he finished as well.

"So you have never been outside that city?" asked Red, feeling rather sorry for her.

"No," replied Aeris simply.

"That's a shame, the world is a very beautiful place in its natural form, outside of a place like that," said Red, "I'm sure your ancestors would agree with me."

"I think I would too," said Aeris, smiling lightly, "I'm so anxious. I can't explain it, but I have a feeling that something big is going to happen on this journey, don't ask me why…"

_Trust me__ Aeris, you don't want that to happen…_ thought John as he finished.

"I understand what Aeris is tryin' to say," said Barret, "We're fighting for the planet here, and if we fail-"

"Then let's hope that we do not," interrupted Tifa, "How long do you think it's going to be until we find Sephiroth?"

"I don't know," replied Cloud, "Better sooner than later I guess. The longer we wait, the more Jenova recovers and the stronger he gets."

"Looks like Spike here is about as optimistic as I am…" said Barret as he looked up at the stars.

_I wonder if the people from Sector 7 are up there, judging us for failing…_

"Where might he go after if he crosses the ocean?" asked Red.

"I'm not sure…" said Cloud.

"Do you think that he might go back to Nibelheim?" asked Tifa.

"I don't know, I don't see why he should. It's not like there's something left there anyway. He saw to that…"

A melancholy silence overtook both Cloud and Tifa after that, one which was broken when John got up.

"Well, I think I'm going to turn in early guys, that training session took a lot out of me."

"Heh, I guess that," smirked Cloud, "Good night."

"'Night," said John as he walked over to one of the three tents that they had set up got inside.

The rest of the group continued talking about their journey, with no decisions being made.

"So…do you guys think he's asleep?" asked Barret.

"Probably…why?" asked Cloud, knowing where this was going to go.

"Am I the only one who finds it a bit…worrying that we don't know anything about that guy?"

"Barret, he said that he had a reason," said Cloud.

"Yeah, and so do the rest of us!" exclaimed Barret in an annoyed tone, "I'm going to save the planet, you're after him to get revenge and to stop him from killing others again, Tifa's got the same reason, Aeris is travelling with us to find out about the Ancients and Red is going back home. He knows all of that, so why can't we know why he's coming along?"

"Barret…" began Tifa, "I'm not really sure that there's anything else for him to do."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I saw him at the bar, he looked so…lost. That's why I recruited him, I wasn't sure that he was going to make it on his own."

"And it looked like you ended up having doubts of your own when he disappeared last night. You too," he finished as he looked over at Aeris.

"Barret, I know what you're trying to say…, but I don't think any of us can accuse John of doing something against us. He helped us in the reactors and in the Shinra building," said Cloud.

"Cloud's right," said Aeris, "I'm not sure what he was up to last night, but he still has my trust."

"Same here," added Tifa, "If it wasn't for him, we'd still be Shinra's prisoners."

"They're right," said Red, "I've been with you people for only three days and I trust all of you, including him. If it wasn't for him, you might be dead now. Don't be so quick to judge him."

"I know, but still…"

"All right, it's been a long day and we all need some sleep if we plan to make it all the way to that Chocobo ranch tomorrow," said Aeris as she got up, "I'm going to sleep, you guys should as well. Good Night."

"She's right," said Cloud as Aeris went into the tent for her and Tifa, "We should get some sleep. Barret, relax a bit. If you can't trust those who watch your back in battle, who can you trust?"

"…I see what you mean, I'll think about it. 'Night." said Barret as he got up and went into the third tent.

"Good night Cloud," said Red simply as he got up and followed Barret.

Cloud sat still for about a minute before he poured some water over the fire to put it out and went to the tent where John was, lying with his back to Cloud.

_Looks like he's asleep… _thought Cloud as he changed into his night clothes and got into his sleeping bag.

_It's probably better__ this way. I'll talk to him tomorrow…_

However, as Cloud's eyes closed, John's stayed wide open, just as they had been since he had entered the tent.

* * *

Before the sun had risen, Rufus was standing on the roof of headquarters with the Turks, a helicopter waiting for them at the edge. 

"All right, remember to report if you catch sight of Sephiroth. Check up on AVALANCHE first as well."

"What should we do if we run into them?" asked Elena, who was dressed in her new suit.

"Try to refrain from fighting unless you feel that it is necessary."

"Which is always for Reno," said Rude with a light snicker.

"H-hey!"

"Rufus, what are you planning to do?" asked Tseng.

"I'm going to clean up back here for a few days. I can't leave so soon after the funeral, wouldn't look right. But after that, I'm crossing the sea as well; I need to head to Rocket Town at some point."

"Rocket Town? Why?"

"The faster we can chase Sephiroth and the more discrete we can be, the better. There's a man that lives there, Cid Highwind, who was a small plane that we can use."

"Are you sure that he's going to hand it over to you?" asked Tseng.

"Let me worry about that, concentrate on the task at hand for now."

"What about…" began Tseng before looking at the others and stopping.

"It's all right, continue," said Rufus, "You can tell them about all that we discussed. They should know."

"Know what?" asked Rude.

"I'll tell you later," said Tseng, "Rufus, what about the Temple of the Ancients? Shouldn't we try to find out about that Keystone and get there before Sephiroth does?"

"If we can't get in, then neither can he. Besides, we have no clue where the Keystone might be."

"Can't we use the airship that we got from him instead?" asked Tseng.

"That's the backup plan."

"How are you going to cross the ocean, are you going by helicopter?" asked Reno.

"No, it would look too fishy if I made my first big trip like that. It's better if I take a ship."

"So how long until that happens?" asked Tseng.

"Not long. Probably a bit over a week."

"All right, we'll be off then, good bye Rufus."

"Good bye Tseng."

The Turks turned around and started to get inside the helicopter, with Tseng being last. Before he boarded, he turned around.

"Rufus?"

"Yeah?"

"You put on a great show today," said Tseng before getting in.

Rufus stayed silent as he watched the helicopter fly away before sighing and going back into his office.

* * *

Cloud opened his eyes to find himself feeling surprisingly well rested. Stretching, he looked over to his right to find that John's sleeping bag was empty. 

_What?! Where is he? It can't be that late._

Cloud quickly dressed and exited his tent. Thankfully John was not too far away, sitting on a rock with a melancholy expression on his face and staring into the distance. Knowing the reason most likely, Cloud slowly walked towards him.

"Good morning," said Cloud once he stopped next to John.

"'Morning," came the reply from John, whose eyes had not shifted and neither had his facial expression.

"So I guess you weren't sleeping…"

"Cloud," began John, his eyes still not moving, "What do you think my intentions are?"

"Well," started Cloud as he sat down on the ground, "I'm not sure to be honest. For all I know, you could be making those voices up."

"Do you think I am?" cut in John.

"No," said Cloud before waiting for a few seconds before continuing, "No, I defiantly don't."

"I suppose I can see why Barret might be concerned though…" said John.

"John, that's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. What happened that night? Where did you go exactly?"

John did not respond immediately, he simply looked at Cloud, as if he was waiting for him to answer his own question.

"…I can't say, not now anyway…"

"What are you mumbling about?" asked Cloud.

"I said that I can't tell you now."

"Why?"

"…"

"John, I want to help you, but how can I if you don't cooperate? Did it at least have anything to do with those voices?"

"No, it did not," was the reply.

Cloud was silent for a few seconds before speaking again.

"You…said that you can't tell me "now". Does that mean that one day you'll be able to?"

To Cloud's confusion, a light smile appeared on John's face and his facial expression stopped being gloomy after that.

"Yes…let's hope so anyways."

Not knowing how to interpret or reply to that, Cloud stayed until John spoke up again.

"Thanks."

"Thanks? For what?"

"For defending me last night, it's nice to know that someone's on my side."

"…I wasn't the only one defending you, pretty much everyone did."

"I know. Just Barret…"

"I'm sure that Barret didn't mean to come off like that, he's just concerned…"

"I understand, I'll talk to him later," said John.

"What are you going to say to him?"

"What he wants to know."

"Really?"

"Well, sort of…"

* * *

"Well?" asked Tseng as he finished his story outside the entrance to the Mythril Mine from the side of Fort Condor. 

"So let me get this straight," started Reno, "You want Aeris to be safe, so you sent her off with some guy who doesn't know who he is?"

"Reno might have a point," said Rude.

"I didn't know it at the time," said Tseng, "But she's better off with him than with Hojo."

"That's true," said Rude before looking over at Elena, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking," she replied.

"Care to enlighten us?" asked Reno.

"It's just that…did you notice how Rufus was a bit…off during the funeral?"

The three more experienced Turks were silent for a few moments before Tseng spoke up.

"Rufus didn't exactly have good relationship with his father, let's just say that."

"That's an understatement," scoffed Reno.

Rude only gave a nod.

Elena did the same and decided to change the subject.

"So how long do we have to be here?"

"Until we see Cloud and the others," said Tseng.

"What if they've already passed through here?" asked Reno.

"I don't think so, they would have had to stop in Kalm for supplies, that would have slowed them down," said Tseng, "Anyway, if we don't see them within three days, we'll just continue on to Junon."

"And where are we supposed to sleep?" asked Elena.

The others didn't say anything and only looked at each other. Eventually Rude spoke up.

"Hope you're good at all-nighters."

* * *

The morning was a quiet one for the team and soon they were continuing on their way. Barret had decided to walk ahead of everyone else, not wanting to continue last night's argument. 

"I'm going to go ahead," whispered John to Cloud.

Receiving a nod of agreement, John picked up his pace and approached Barret.

"Where's he going?" asked Aeris.

"Umm…remember when we thought that he was asleep last night?" asked Cloud, "Well…he kinda wasn't."

"What?!" exclaimed Tifa quietly, "Oh John…"

John in the meantime had gotten next to Barret and decided to try to initiate conversation.

"Barret?"

"Yeah?" asked Barret after a slight pause.

"I uhh…wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" asked Barret, his eyes staying on the path.

"I heard what you said," said John plainly.

Barret was slightly taken back, but didn't show it in his body movements, but he did shift his eyes over to John.

"I don't blame you," continued John, "You have every right to be concerned."

"…"

"…I'll tell you."

"What?!"

"I'll tell you why I'm coming along. I can't tell you everything, but I'll give you a general idea."

"Better than nuthin, shoot."

"One reason is that I have to…find something out."

"Find what out?"

"I can't say exactly, but it's really important and I need to do it. Please trust me," pleaded John.

Barret looked at John for a few seconds before asking a question.

"What's the other reason?"

John stayed silent for a minute as they continued walking and retreated into his mind.

_How do I say this? He can't know, not yet! I can't change what is going to happen too much, otherwise who knows what could happen?_

"I'm…waiting."

"Waiting…for what?"

"…just trust me that that's the best way I can explain it."

John waited for Barret to give some sort of approval, but he simply picked up his pace and started to walk ahead of John. Deciding that it was best to leave him alone for now, John chose to stay at his speed. A few minutes later he looked behind himself to see Cloud walking up.

"How'd it go?"

"Okay, I guess…he didn't seem to be angry, if that means something…"

"He'll come around," said Cloud confidently.

"What about them?" asked John, lightly looking back, "Why do they look so down?"

"I told them that you were awake, so expect some apologies once we get to the ranch."

John merely nodded and continued walking.

* * *

As the sun was entering its final hour of the day, the team approached the Chocobo ranch. 

"All right, we'll try to rest here tonight," said Cloud, "Barret and I will go talk to the ranch owner."

"What do you mean try? I'm going to collapse soon," complained Aeris as she knelt against the wooden fence.

"And if you don't watch your fingers, they're going to get bitten off by the chocobos," said Barret, causing Aeris to jump back away from the fence, "We're all tired Aeris."

"Sorry…" mumbled the flower girl as she looked over at the chocobos.

"Let's go Cloud," said Barret as the two walked off in the direction of the house, leaving the others behind.

Once they were closer to the house, Cloud spoke in a low voice.

"So?"

"Hm?"

"What did he tell you?"

"You mean he hasn't told you?"

"No, he said he'd tell you something."

"Well, it wasn't much…" said Barret.

"What did he say?"

"Basically that he needed to find something out and that he was "waiting"."

"What do you mean "waiting"? For what?"

"He wouldn't say."

"But you do know why he tried to explain himself to you, right?"

Barret gave a sigh before replying.

"Look, the guy's saved my back since he came, so you don't have to worry about me gunning him down suddenly or something. But I still think that there's something fishy about him…"

* * *

Watching Cloud and Barret go into the house, John gave a slight sigh, knowing why Cloud had wanted Barret to go along with him. 

_I can't blame him, he's curious…_

John then turned around, to see Aeris and Tifa looking uneasy and Red looking bored. Tifa opened her mouth to begin speaking when John beat her to it.

"You don't have to say anything," he said with a smile.

"John…we shouldn't have done that, especially when you weren't there."

"I said, "don't worry". And I mean it," said John with a smile, "It's not like you guys said anything bad. From what I remember, it was the opposite."

Aeris gave a light giggle, causing John and Tifa to look over at her.

"Looks like there was no point in worrying then," she said before turning to the chocobos, "Look, what are they doing?"

"Are they…dancing?" asked Tifa to no one in particular.

John simply smiled as he watched the creatures kick their feet up in the air. Unbeknownst to him however, Red had a close eye on John's line of vision and noticed that it wasn't the chocobos he was looking at, but at the ground beneath them. Red looked where John seemed to be looking and noticed what should have been impossible for a human to spot that quickly: a tiny red sphere. Red looked back at John, who continued to smile as he watched that spot. Although there seemed to be no evil intentions behind the smile as far as Red could tell, he still had shivers running up and down his spine. Suddenly, the chocobo nearest to the sphere kicked it up and John's eyes followed it, not going unnoticed by Red. The materia landed just next to Aeris.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she knelt down to pick it up, "What is this?"

"Let me see," said John as he walked over to her.

"Hmm…" he began as she held it up to his face, "Wow, that looks like Summon materia."

"Summon materia?"

"They're really rare; they can summon a creature to help you in battle."

"Wow, that sounds nice," said Aeris with a smile as she looked at the materia close, "Hmm…there seems to be something on a chocobo in this…"

Just then, Cloud and Barret came out of the house and gave a thumbs up to the team.

"Finally!" exclaimed Aeris as she pocketed the materia in her jacket, "Let's go guys!"

With that, Aeris started to dash towards the house, with Tifa behind her. John started to follow them slowly, but turned around and looked over at Red, who was still lying down and looking rather uncomfortable.

"Red, are you ok?"

Red only gave nod in response.

"Come on, let's go," said John as he continued towards the house.

Red slowly got up and followed him, lost in his thought.

_What was that? Did he know what was going to happen to the materia?__ But...how…? Who…where…Grandpa…who is this guy?_

* * *

Even though the team had to pay for their stay, the ranch owner was kind enough to offer them all dinner. John had finished early, so he asked if he could step outside for some fresh air. Given the permission to do so, John washed his plate, put it away and walked out. He went over to the fence and leaned back against it, letting out a sigh as he looked at the night sky. 

_Wow…can't believe it's only been a bit over a week. Looks like I have some journey ahead of me…_

John heard the sound of footsteps and looked in front of him to see Cloud coming out of the house.

"Everything ok?" he asked as he walked over to John and leaned against the fence as well.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking…"

"About what?"

"The future…what awaits us…that sorta stuff."

"Speaking of the future-" Cloud began, only to be caught off guard by a light laugh from John.

"I see you spoke to Barret."

"Yes, well, what did you mean by "waiting"? I understood the first part, but that…"

"I meant just what I said, I'm waiting. Something's going to happen and…" slowed down John.

_That might have been too much…_

"What do you mean "something's going to happen"? Is it like a feeling?" asked Cloud.

John looked at Cloud for a few seconds before looking up at the sky and replying.

"I guess you could say that. Yeah, a feeling…"

"What are you going to do when this "something" happens?" asked Cloud rather anxiously.

John looked at Cloud for a moment before smiling and starting to walk towards the house before turning around halfway.

"Let me worry about that, you have enough of your own problems."

_Whatever__I'll do, it's going to be something that you will be unable to, unfortunately…_

With that John walked into the house, leaving Cloud alone in the quiet of the night.

_My own problems? What does he know about my problems?_


	25. Chapter XXV

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Like many times before, thanks to all the readers and a special thanks to all those who have taken the time to review.

All right, I kept on writing until I reached the spot that I wanted to reach. Therefore, it is one of the longer chapters. The Zolom battle took me a while to write and I was originally not going to make the part in the Mythril Mine as long as it is, but I ended up doing it anyway. There is a lot of action in this chapter and I wanted to keep it in this one because the next chapter is going to be rather dialog heavy.

JL - I do see what you mean. In fact you've given me an idea that I'm going to put to use next chapter, thanks for bringing that issue up. As for the other thing, I really couldn't send him in barefoot, now could I? ;)

Enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXV

"All right, everyone ready?" asked Cloud as AVALANCHE assembled at the gates of the chocobo ranch.

"Yeah," said Barret, "Let's go kick some giant snake ass!"

"Do we really have to fight the Zolom?" asked Tifa, "Can't we try to catch a chocobo instead?"

"There's no time for that Tifa," said Cloud, "It might take us a whole day to catch a chocobo; we can't let Sephiroth get too far ahead."

"You've got a point there…" said Tifa.

"How are we going to take it down?" asked John.

"In whatever way we can."

"So we're going in without a plan of attack," said Red.

Cloud was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"Look, we can't exactly search the area 'till we find the Zolom. If we're lucky, we'll reach the mine without one of them seeing us."

"You mean there are more than one?!" exclaimed Aeris with concern.

"Don't worry about that," said Barret, "They're loners. When one picks a prey, the rest lay off."

"That should make things a bit easier for us then," sad Red.

"Let's hope so," added Cloud, "Let's go."

As they walked out of the ranch and in the direction of the marshlands and the Mythril Mine, Red couldn't help but continue thinking about what he had seen the previous day.

_John…does he know if we're going to get attacked? I should keep an eye on him…_

* * *

In the meantime, on the other side of the mine, Sephiroth and Jenova were continuing their trek, quite some distance away from the mine already when Sephiroth stopped. 

"Mother, continue on. I shall return shortly."

"Where are you going?" asked Jenova.

"Cloud and his friends will have to fights with one of those serpents if they are to follow us. I shall observe them and see just how strong they are."

"That's not a bad idea…keep an eye on the Ancient which caused the blast in Midgar, tell me what they look like."

"All right…" said Sephiroth with a nod.

Without any further words, Sephiroth flew up and started back to the mine.

_I'll use the mountains to conceal myself. Better not to give them more problems than they already gave… After all, I__ might need them to get the Black materia, should the others fail…_

Eventually, Sephiroth found a spot where he could observe the battle without being seen.

_Now, I wait…_

* * *

As the sun was in full force over the marsh, the team walked through, their eyes peeled onto their surroundings. 

"Cloud, shouldn't we go a bit faster?" asked Aeris.

"What if they see the movement?" came back Cloud, "It might be too risky. Let's continue."

A few minutes later, Tifa stopped.

"Tifa, is something wrong?" asked Red.

"I don't know…I think I heard something."

"That might be a Zolom, we better keep moving," said Cloud.

Very soon afterwards, Tifa stopped again and looked back.

"C-Cloud…"

"What is it?" he asked as he rushed to where she stood in the back of the group.

"L-look, out there…"

Cloud looked into the distance and his pupils widened at what he saw, a dark being in the distance was moving at a very rapid pace, and it was moving towards them.

"Damn, it's seen us, hurry!" he exclaimed as the team started to run in the direction of the mine.

In less than a minute however, Cloud looked back and noticed that there was no way that they would make it to the mine in time.

"We have no choice!" he called to the others as he stopped and removed his backpack, throwing it further in the direction of the mine, "We'll have to fight it."

The others were quick to dispose of their packs as well and throw it near Cloud's as he removed his Buster Sword and tossed it as well, getting his Hardedge ready. Barret replaced his new Atomic Scissors with the Assault Gun. Deciding to attack before the serpent got to them; he extended his hand and prepared to cast a Bolt spell.

"CLOUD, NO!" yelled John as he tossed his Mythril Saber, catching Cloud off guard.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We're standing in water, if you use a lightning spell, we'll all get shocked too."

_Damn, he's right__…_thought Cloud as he lowered his hand and noticed just how close the Zolom was getting to them.

"There's no time to attack, SCATTER!" yelled Cloud, "Lead it away from our supplies! Run back!"

The whole team had their weapons ready and followed Cloud's orders as the Zolom sailed past them, but stopped before it reached the packs. Wasting no time, it turned around and followed the team.

"IT'S GAINING ON US!" yelled John.

"EVERYONE STOP!" ordered Cloud, "It'll pick someone off if we continue running."

With no other choice or time left, the team watched as the Zolom stopped in front of them and got up. It moved its head around and noted its opponents: Cloud, John and Red to his left and Barret, Tifa and Aeris to his right.

"I-it's much bigger than I thought it would be," said Aeris as she clutched her staff.

"Stay on your guard," said Cloud, never removing his eyes from the snake.

The serpent in the meantime had noticed the frightened Ancient and decided that she would be the easiest to get. Slowly, it moved its eyes over to her and locked in.

"C-Cloud…"

"Dammit, it's heading for Aeris!" yelled Barret as the snake leaped.

Barret was quick to unleash a few bullets to distract the Zolom as Tifa pulled Aeris away. The serpent recoiled in pain as the bullets entered its right side and went back to its upright position. While it was readying itself for another attack, Sephiroth was watching with utmost attention.

_So that girl is Aeris… she doesn't look like a fighter…_

"Barret, watch out, it's probably going to come after you!" yelled John.

"I gotcha," replied Barret as he aimed his gun at the snake, ready to fire once it made its next move.

_And that man is Barret…_

Seizing the moment, John used his Earth materia and the ground started to shake lightly, which was enough to make the Zolom lose its concentration. This gave Red the chance to leap and hook onto the snake. He opened his mouth and dug his fangs deep into the snake and released his paws, sliding down and making a long, deep cut on the snake.

"Red, get out of there before it attacks," yelled Tifa.

_Red hmm…that was an intelligent tactic. The Zolom will continue to lose blood from that wound, making it weaker and weaker as the battle progresses…_

Cloud rushed at the snake next and stretched his blade out, hoping to make a deep stab. Unfortunately for him, the Zolom noticed this and moved its massive body out of the way. With the blow missing completely, Cloud was now open for an attack. The Zolom raised its head and brought it down…

_Bad move Cloud… You'll have to do better…_

"Look out!"

Cloud never felt the fangs as Tifa had kicked the snakes head and made it lose its balance slightly. While the serpent was trying to regain itself, Tifa opened into a combo as she rushed at the main body and delivered several powerful blows, causing bruises and cuts with her Mythril Claw. Before the Zolom could recover from that attack, Tifa jumped on the spot she had just assaulted and performed a Somersault attack, leaping off it and making an even deeper cut, the snake's skin being very weak from her previous move. That wasn't the end though as she stood for less than a second, quickly getting down on her hands and pushing her left leg across that mark that she had made, making it deeper once again and splashing some marsh water into the wound. The Zolom hissed in pain, but couldn't do anything as a wave of bullets from Barret pushed it down. With very little support from his midsection, the snake fell into the marsh and lay still. Tifa walked a few paces back and let out an exhausted breath.

_Looks like she continued her training…_

"Is it over?" asked Cloud.

"I don't know…" said John.

John looked over the snake. It seemed to be still, until he got to the end…

"TIFA, LOOK OUT!"

But it was too late. In what seemed like an instant, the serpent raised its tail and swiftly brought it sideways against Tifa. The martial artist had no time to defend her in her exhausted and vulnerable state and was sent flying higher over Aeris into the marsh with full force. As she impacted, her left leg came onto a rock, which dug deep into her flesh and slid down. As she stopped, she lay groaning in pain as the marsh water flooded into her submerged wound, the water taking on a red shade next to her.

"Tifa!" yelled Aeris as she watched her friend lay still.

The serpent still had its eyes on Tifa and with everyone in shock; no one was making a move on it.

_Fools… this is your time to finish him!_

The Zolom slightly bent down against its injured body, wounds still fresh and moist and leaped into the air, heading in the direction of Tifa with its mouth open.

Aeris had turned around just in time to see the snake leap and raised her staff in the air.

_Got to time this right…_

As the snake passed over her, she reached into the power of the lightning materia which lay in her Striking Staff and a bolt shot out of one of the tips, making direct impact on the snake. Unlike the previous uses with this materia however, the bolt did not stop, it continued as the snake hovered in midair from the force, hissing as its moist body was continuously shocked, it wounds burning more and more. A second bolt joined the first from the other end of the staff as the team and Sephiroth looked on.

_So much power…amazing! She was the one! She caused the explosion in Midgar! Astounding! There's no way that the materia had enough use to generate that much __power at this point in their journey with a human. No…her Cetra blood allows her to reach deep into its power, deeper than any human ever could. After all, she is one with them…_

As Aeris's attack entered its final stage, the two bolts met together in the middle of her staff and one big bolt was fired off. It hit the Zolom square in the center and sent it falling back to where it had jumped from. It hit the ground with a loud crash as Aeris took firm grip of her staff again, slightly tired from the spell. She looked around to see everyone, including Tifa, looking at her.

_No way…she did THAT?! _thought Cloud, _I knew the Ancients were powerful, but…Tifa!_

"Tifa!" yelled Cloud, "Aeris, how is she?"

"She's conscious Cloud, but her leg looks really bad. We'll have to-"

She was cut off by a sound that kept everyone frozen, coming from where the snake lay.

_It's still alive?! _thought Aeris.

The serpent slowly got up, only to be pelted by more bullets from Barret. However, that did not seem to do the job and it stayed up, bleeding profusely from its many wounds, life rapidly fading. But it did not plan to go down quietly, its eyes set on Aeris.

_Oh yes, its magic attack…let's see how they'll deal with this._

"What is it doing?" yelled Barret.

The snake was no longer paying attention to its other adversaries, all of his efforts concentrating on Aeris.

_Oh no, I forgot about this! _remembered John.

"Aeris look out! It's using a magic attack!"

John's warning came too late as there was less than a second between what he said and Aeris feeling an ominous energy around her. As she looked around herself, she saw a circle of red appearing in the air around her. Then, the temperature started to rise and it didn't stop. Within a few seconds, she felt herself choking from the loss of air due to the heat. The red circle continued to unleash energy on her and held her in place as she felt her energy leaving her from the lack of breath. Her clothes and skin did not burn, but on the inside it was a different story. She felt as if she was going to melt from the heat and tears began to fall. Not from pain, but from the temperature. The red light from the attack was so bright that no one noticed the yellow materia in her armlet glow momentarily. When the attack finished and the light died down, the team saw Aeris simply standing as the snake collapsed backwards and finally died.

"A-Aeris?" called Tifa, her own pain still prominent.

The flower girl did not move, or speak. She simply slumped down onto her knees before falling face first into the marsh.

"Aeris!" yelled John as the team rushed over to their fallen comrades.

_I've seen what I needed to see… _said Sephiroth as he moved backwards and started heading to a spot where he could fly off from without being seen.

Barret picked up Tifa slowly as she groaned and winced when he saw her wound. Aeris had been right, it was very serious. The rock had made a very deep gash from the middle of her thigh and downwards below her knee.

"We have to bandage her, now!" exclaimed Red.

John in the meantime ran over to Aeris's body and turned her over. He lowered his ear to her mouth and was relieved when he heard her breathe.

_Whew, she's safe…_

"John, how's Aeris?" asked Red.

"She's alive, just unconscious. What about Tifa?"

"She's awake, but we have to bandage her wound or else she'll lose too much blood."

"Gotcha. Cloud, can you hold Aeris?"

Cloud walked over to John who passed the unconscious flower girl over to him.

_Let's hope that we won't have to repeat this scenario up north…_ thought John in the back of his mind.

With that done, John ran over to where their supplies were and took out a Phoenix down, a bottle of alcohol and bandages. He ran back over to the others and walked up to Tifa.

"We have to go before another one comes," she said.

"Don't worry about that yet," said John as he wet one of the bandages with alcohol, "We have to take care of you first. Now hold still, this is going to sting."

Tifa clenched her teeth as John lowered the bandage over her wound.

"Are your bones okay?"

"Yeah, I sprained my ankle though when I fell I think. That was stupid of me, I should have stayed alert."

"Don't worry," said John with a smile as he started wrapping another bandage around her leg, "You weakened it enough for us to finish it off."

Red in the meantime was playing the final part of the battle over in his head.

_How did John know that it was about to use a magic spell? He didn't seem like he knew how the battle was going to progress step by step, that's for sure. There's no way that he'd let this happen to Tifa and Aeris if he knew he could prevent it. But I'd still like to know how he saw the magic attack coming…_

While Red was pondering, John had finished with Tifa's bandages and turned to Aeris.

"Cloud, hold her in a vertical position so I can give her this," he said as he opened the vial of the Phoenix Down.

Cloud carefully put an arm around Aeris as he lowered her feet to the ground. John lifted her chin and poured the contents of the vial down her throat. After a few seconds, Aeris started to cough lightly as she opened her eyes. She gripped tightly against Cloud as she regained her consciousness.

"Whoa there, you okay?" asked Cloud, suddenly taken aback.

"What the? What hap-Tifa!" remembered Aeris.

"I'm alright Aeris," said Tifa before looking down at her bandaged leg, "Well, sorta."

Aeris slowly let go of Cloud and found balance as she stood on her own.

"Are you ok?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah… I guess… A bit tired…" said Aeris as she looked back at the Zolom's body, "Wow…"

She let out a sigh of relief and unconsciously leaned against Cloud as slight fatigue overtook her again.

"Oh," she went as she realized what she was doing, "Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. You're tired from that attack, it's understandable," said Cloud simply.

"I think we really need to be movin," said Barret, "We don't know when more might come."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," said Cloud, "Barret, you carry Tifa. I'll get her bag. John, you get Aeris's. Aeris, you okay to walk?"

Aeris gave nod in return as she leant lightly against her staff for support, "I'm ready."

* * *

_Their skills are remarkable, I'll admit, but it is nothing for me to worry __about. Not at this point anyway… I still did not get that man's name, which is a shame. But that girl…she's more powerful than I thought at Midgar. And she's quite young to possess such power. It took the Cetra time to hone their abilities and connection with the planet. But with them being gone, maybe it is easier for her to connect to the planet than her ancestors, which would explain what I just saw… I do hope that she survived that attack; it would be a shame for her to meet her end like that…_

* * *

Back in the marsh, the team saw the entrance to the Mythril Mine and picked up their pace slightly. However, Cloud stopped a few steps later, his eyes drawn to what he saw on his right. 

"Oh my god…" said Aeris as she followed his sight.

In front of the, impaled on a tree, was the dead body of a Midgar Zolom.

"I guess we're on the right path then…" said John softly.

"Our enemy is someone who can do that?" asked Aeris as she slightly shook and leaned more against her staff.

Aeris looked back at Tifa, remembering the scar she had seen before looking back at the snake.

_What…is he? What have I gotten myself into?_

"Let's continue," said Cloud, "The blood here is dry, so he's not very close."

"Cloud, the blood is coming through the bandages," said Barret.

Cloud looked back at Tifa and stood still for a second before speaking.

"We'll rest in the mine tonight, we'll decide on what to do later."

With that, the team too one last look at Sephiroth's work and headed inside. After a while, they came to a place where there was light and which was close to the exit.

"This is a good spot," said Cloud.

As soon as he said that, Barret carefully laid Tifa down and began to undo her bandages. Aeris walked over and took a close look at the gash.

"Well, it doesn't look infected. You guys did a good thing covering this up."

"Thank John, he's the one who did it," said Tifa.

Aeris looked back to a blushing John who was looking at his feet before getting the bottle of alcohol out and wetting another bandage.

"Alright, hold still," said Aeris as she placed the bandage on the wound and started to wrap it up again, "We'll have to rest somewhere for more than a day for her to recover properly."

"We can't exactly stay here," said John, "The monsters will wear us out soon."

"There's a place called Fort Condor near here," said Barret, "There's a resistance group against Shinra there, I'm sure they will take us in."

"Then we'll head there tomorrow," said Cloud.

As they prepared to rest, they heard the sound of someone running in their direction. They looked back to see a blond woman in a suit run in.

"They're here! They're here!"

Barret and Aeris got up and joined John, Cloud and Red as Tifa leaned against the wall. Three men walked into the room which the team recognized instantly.

"So, we meet again," said Reno as he held up his bandaged arm, "This look familiar to you guys?"

"What do you guys want?" asked Cloud.

"We're just checking up on you, it looks like you've already had quite a day," said Tseng.

_That's good…as much as I don't want to admit it, there's no way we can beat all of them in our current condition_ thought Cloud.

"Are you sure that that's all there is to your presence?" asked John, knowing their true intentions.

"Yes well, our main objective is to locate where Sephiroth is heading," said Elena.

"Elena…there's no need to tell them about our orders," said Tseng.

"Oh…sorry."

"You know what we should do next then, right?"

"Yes, as you told me. We are to head after Sephiroth, who is heading for Juno Harbor."

"Elena, you didn't seem to understand me," said Tseng while sighing.

"Oh…"

"Don't worry about us overhearing," said Cloud, "We figured out where he's heading already."

"Well then, you're a lot smarter than you look," said Reno.

Ignoring him, Tseng took a step forward.

"Aeris…long time no see."

"Strange…hearing that from you," she said doing the same.

"You'll be glad to know that Rufus has called off the search for you…for now."

"Did he now?" asked Aeris sarcastically as she leaned against her staff again, "Well then, he's already higher than his father in my book."

"Well then Aeris, it'll probably be a while until we see each other again."

"I don't think our previous encounter went all too well, don't you Tseng?" asked Aeris, referring to the incident in the plane.

"No, I suppose it didn't," said Tseng as he turned around, "Well then, I'll be seeing you."

Without another word, Tseng walked out, the rest of the Turks following suit, with Rude taking another glance at Tifa and her injury before heading out.

"Now what?" asked Barret.

"Now, we rest," said Cloud before walking over to Aeris, who had gone over to the wall and sat down.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, "just a bit tired."

"That was really something what you pulled off today."

"Thanks…I didn't know I could do that."

"You didn't?" he asked.

"No…I mean, I knew that I was better at magic than most people. Well, most people in the slums anyway. But that…was new."

"So…does it mean anything?"

"I don't know…it just makes me wonder," said Aeris.

"Wonder? About what?"

"About the future, about what's going to happen to me..."

* * *

That night, it was Cloud's turn to keep watch and he was lost in his thoughts. 

_That was a close one tonight…we came close to losing two people today. Tifa got really hurt…I really should have kept that promise, shouldn't have I? But then again, I'm no hero. And Aeris, she did have a point. The Shinra won't stay away from her forever__-_

Just then, Cloud heard a sound and looked up.

_What was that? It sounded like __something from above._

Coming towards him, he saw three Ark dragons flying down.

"We got company!" he yelled, waking the others up.

"What the-" began John before he saw the dragons and grabbed his staff.

Aeris was first to act and extended her hand, tapping into her Enemy Skill materia. Using Matra Magic, she fired off several blasts into the air. However, the dragons avoided them and the blasts collided with the ceiling of the mine, sending rocks flying down.

"No good," said Cloud, "We'll have to wait for them to come closer. Barret, protect Tifa."

"Got it," said the man with the gun arm as he moved towards his injured friend.

John and Red ran backwards, catching the attention of one of the dragons, which started to fly town in their direction. Waiting until it was low enough, John launched an Ice attack, the projectile hitting the dragon in the torso and causing him to fall to the ground. It would never get up again as Red pounced on it, his claws drawing blood as he cut through its skin. One of the others had targeted Aeris and launched a Flamethrower attack. It missed, but came close enough for her Enemy Skill Materia to light up to signify that it had been incorporated. The dragon then tried to swoop down for an attack, but it was hit by Barret's bullets, clipping its wings and sending it crashing down. Before it could do anything else, Aeris launched a bolt spell, sending it flying backwards to where Cloud was standing. The AVALANCHE leader wasted no time in beheading the dragon, leaving only one for the team to deal with. John pointed his staff upwards and launched a green projectile using his Poison materia. The attack hit the dragon, which continued to stay in the air. After a few minutes had passed however, it lost its strength and started to stagger before heading down into the chasm next to the team.

"That was close," said Cloud, "Everyone ok?"

"Yeah," said Aeris, "I that last one dead?"

"I think so," said John as he looked over the edge, "I can't see any movement, so-"

John's speech suddenly froze as something familiar and unwanted returned to his ears.

_What?! No, not now…_

"John? Are you ok?" asked Tifa.

John took a few steps back and smiled at Tifa while lightly rubbing his ear for a second.

"Um uh yeah, I'm fine. I'll be back in a sec okay?"

No one else had a chance to say anything before John ran out of the area.

"What's the matter with him?" asked Aeris in a concerned tone.

"I don't know," said Cloud rather convincingly, "I'll go check on him."

Cloud dashed out of the room, leaving the others dumbstruck. It didn't take him long to locate John in the passageway before the area with the exit, standing still in a corner with his hands on his ears, breathing heavily.

"John?" asked Cloud as he put a hand on his shoulder.

John turned around in surprise before hitting the wall with his back.

"Whoa there. It's only me," said Cloud, waiting for John to calm down before slowly adding, "Is it the voices again?"

John looked at him with frightened eyes before nodding.

"Yeah…but it was different this time."

"Different? How?"

"There was something else…something big…behind them…" said John as he continued to breathe heavily.

"Something big?"

"Yeah…I don't know how else to explain it. It was there in the background, and it was getting louder. It wasn't like the others…no…"

"…do you think this means anything?" asked Cloud.

"I don't know…I have no clue what it means…"

"Was it Sephiroth?"

"No…it wasn't him, that much I could tell. I don't know how to describe it…but it was something else."

Cloud waited for a few seconds, staring into a nonexistent distance before opening his mouth.

"Well-"

Cloud then suddenly grabbed John and pushed him into an unseen corner before getting in himself.

"Shh…I heard something," he whispered, "footsteps."

John and Cloud stayed silent and still as the footsteps indeed became more audible. Once they were close enough, they heard a voice as well, a voice which was raspy and strained.

"Reunion…"

_That's one of the… _thought John.

A figure in a black cloak passed by the corner while neither man dared to move. The figure stopped for a second and looked around before heading in the direction of the exit. A sound of struggling could be heard as it climbed the vine before more footsteps heading out. Once they could no longer be heard, Cloud and John walked out of their hiding spot.

"What was that?" asked Cloud.

"I don't know," lied John, "It was saying something…"

"Yeah…a 'Reunion' or something…"

"We should be heading back," said John after a little pause.

"Yeah, the others will be worried. We'll talk more once we get to Fort Condor," said Cloud.

_I'm not liking this…_ he added to himself mentally.

"Is everything ok?" asked Aeris when they got back.

"Yeah," said John with a quick smile before swiftly disappearing into his tent, quickly followed by Cloud.

* * *

"Looks like they fought the Zolom," said Tseng as he was sitting down in the helicopter headed for Junon, "and won." 

"Yeah, I didn't think they'd do that," said Reno, "I figured that they'd come using a chocobo, but seeing Tifa…"

"I hope she'll be alright," said Rude, more to himself than to the others.

"…"

"What?" asked the bald man.

"No, it's nothing Rude," said Elena as she looked away and gave light giggle, "Absolutely nothing."

"What? I'm not allowed to comment on someone's condition without all of you turning into teenagers?" asked Rude in an annoyed tone as Reno and Tseng chuckled.

"Don't take it personally Rude," said Tseng.

"Yeah, we're just happy that you finally have someone to shoot for," added Reno with a laugh, receiving a glare from Rude in return.

* * *

The next morning, the team was out of the mine not long after the sun had risen. Tifa's bandages had been replaced anew by their last ones and they were in need of reaching Fort Condor. They were closing in on their destination and the Condor was in clear view. 

"Ugh…hold on Tifa," said Barret as he moved up the rocky slopes, "It's not that far now. Right up there..."

"How much longer?" asked Red, "I can't see as high as you guys can."

"I think about twenty minutes," said Barret.

"That's good," said John, "We could all use some rest. I hope they have the supplies for Tifa."

"They should," said Barret, "This place is so remote that they would have to have a large stock of supplies just to stay alive."

As they continued walking, John noticed the ground below him get darker.

"Hm?" he thought out loud as he looked up, "Uh oh, trouble!"

The team looked up to see a Zemzelett flying in their direction.

"That's not the only thing," added Cloud as he pointed in the distance to an oncoming Hell Rider.

"Dammit, we don't have time for this," said Barret.

"Barret, you should head on with Tifa," suggested John, "Cloud, you go too and protect them in case there are more monsters ahead. We'll deal with these two."

"Are you sure?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah. Hurry, before they're both here," said Red as he got ready.

Cloud and Barret picked up their speed and ran towards Fort Condor while John and Aeris put their bags down.

"All right, don't let your guard down," said John.

When he had finished saying that, the Zemzelett began to descend towards them. Red tried to act fast and jumped at it, but was knocked aside by its force as it came to the ground. It then flew back up out of their reach. In this time, the Hell Rider had gotten close enough to the battle to cause damage, so he raised his hammer and slammed it onto the ground. The resultant shockwaves caused John and Aeris to lose their footing and fall to the ground. John extended his staff and launched a crystal projectile at the Hell Rider, but it was easily shattered by his hammer. The rider then moved closer to the duo, ready to attack them both as he pulled his hammer back.

"Get down!" shouted John as he grabbed Aeris and pushed to the ground with himself, the hammer just missing their heads.

"That was close," he said as they got back up in time to see Red try to jump on the Hell Rider but missed.

After Red landed, he started to dash fast with the Hell Rider behind him. John looked at them and realized that he had led the Hell Rider away so that they could deal with the Zemzelett, which was heading back down.

"All right, get ready Aeris!"

The creature headed down for both of them, but they did not move. They waited until it was close enough to the ground and the rolled out of the way as it hit the ground. John wasted no time in rushing back up to it and slicing sideways with his staff with Aeris doing the same a second later.

"Did we do it?" she asked.

But instead of falling, the Zemzelett started to flap its wings, causing Aeris and John to duck as a breeze began blowing.

"Ugh, what is it doing?" asked Aeris as she looked at it, "Wait, look!"

The blood from the wounds was slowly stopping as the breeze continued to blow. Aeris also noticed her Enemy Skill materia light up again.

_Hm? It absorbed that ability… Wait…there's something else here…_

Aeris then got an idea of how to end this battle quickly.

"John, come with me," she said as she grabbed his hand and quickly led him away from the recovering creature.

"Aeris, what are you doing? We have to finish it before it can heal itself."

"Don't worry about that," she said with a smile before looking In the direction where Red was and shouting, "Red, lead that guy back over here and try to get him together with the other one, I've got a plan."

Red did as Aeris said and started running in the direction of the Zemzelett. Once he was close enough, he quickly turned around and slashed the front legs of the creature that the Hell Rider was on, causing it to stop in its tracks. Red then quickly jumped over to where John and Aeris stood.

"There, what's the plan?"

"Just stand back…" said Aeris as she extended her arm and started to concentrate on the Enemy Skill materia.

_All right, let's hope this works…_

Her plan came into fruition as the same red circle that had tortured her the previous day appeared around her enemies. There was no hope in saving them as it unleashed energy onto them and the light grew brighter. Red and John had to cover their eyes as did Aeris, not expecting this much energy from her attack. The light went far enough to cause Cloud, Barret and Tifa to worry as they reached the entrance to Fort Condor. The temperature rose as the creatures felt their energy leaving them from it. When it was finally over, the light died down and Aeris looked just in time to see her foes fall over dead. She looked over at John and then at red who were looking at her with wide eyes. Finally, she looked at her hand and the materia in her armlet, partial disbelief of the recent events in her mind.

_Wow…I did that?!_


	26. Chapter XXVI

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John. I also do not own the rights to Alicia Keys's No One.

As always, I would like to thank all the readers and a special thanks to all the reviewers. 

Okay, I know it's been a while, but I really haven't had the time to work on this for a while. I had a lot to write for this as well (there are 14 scenes in this). Like I said in the previous chapter, this is nearly all dialog between the team. I was unsure of how to do several things initially, so I had to think them over. I tried to add some stuff to John's background like JL suggested, but not in a very blatant and bloated way because it currently does not hold much importance to the plot. I think I'm reasonably satisfied in the result. I'll mention more about it at the end of this chapter. I also think I managed to do a nice scene with Tifa and Aeris, a type which I usually don't see in other people's works unfortunately.

Slade2.0 - I know that her name was originally Aerith, but I can't stand that name for some reason. I grew up knowing her as Aeris, so I'm keeping her Aeris for my fics.

I hope you guys enjoy this! 

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXVI

"Damn, what was that?" exclaimed Barret as the light died down.

"It looked like the same light that Aeris was trapped in back when we were fighting the Zolom," said Tifa weakly from Barret's arms.

_There aren't any Zolom__s here though…so where did that attack come from?_

"Barret, can you make it to the entrance by yourself?" asked Cloud with some guilt as he turned around to face him.

"Yeah, you go and make sure that they're all right," replied Barret.

"Thanks," said Cloud before switching his eyes over to Tifa, "Stay tough Tifa."

Tifa only replied with a smile and a nod before Barret turned around and started to run in the direction of Fort Condor, which was less than five minutes away. Cloud in the meantime began heading back down the rocky path on which they had come.

_I knew I shouldn't have left them alone…_

Luckily for Cloud, he had only been running for about two minutes before he saw three figures walking towards him, looking uninjured.

"Hey, are you guys all right?" asked Cloud as he continued running.

"Yeah, don't worry about us," said Aeris, "Why did you come back? You should have gone with Barret and Tifa; they might need your help."

"It's all right, I got them close enough," said Cloud, "I saw the same attack that the Zolom used on you back in the marsh and-"

"Oh that…" started Aeris with a light giggle, "That was me."

"You!" asked an astonished Cloud, "But how-"

"Her materia must have integrated the attack into itself, so that's probably why she was able to use it," explained John.

_The power of the Ancients must be great if it let her cast something like that and not wipe her out considering how little experience she has…_ thought John in the back of his mind.

"I believe that we should be on our way before more monsters come," said Red.

"He's right," added John, "We need to rest for a while as Tifa gets better."

Cloud nodded and turned back, beginning to walk in the direction of Fort Condor.

"You sure you're ok?" asked John as he looked over at Aeris.

"Yeah," she said with a lightly fatigued sigh, "Don't worry about me."

_I wouldn't be saying that if I was you… _thought John, his thoughts momentarily drifting again to a future he wanted to avoid.

* * *

When they approached the entrance, they saw a man waving at them.

"You must be the other members of the party; your friends have gone inside. We're tending to the woman right now."

"Oh thank you," said Aeris with a smile, "Is she all right?"

"You'll have to ask the doctor here, that's probably where she was taken."

"All right, thank you," said Cloud as he started going up the rope when another voice stopped him.

"Cloud?" asked Red.

"Yeah?"

"How am I supposed to get up there?"

"Oh…" replied a startled Cloud, "…climb on my shoulder Red. I guess that's the only way."

"…thank you," was the simple reply before Red jumped onto Cloud's soldier.

"You know how to climb one of these?" asked John as he walked over to the rope and began to climb.

"Yeah, I think so," said Aeris as she took hold of the rope and started to lift herself slowly, "There we go, see?"

John only gave a chuckle as he continued up with the flower girl behind him.

"All right, let's find the others," said Aeris as she got up once they had finished and headed for the ladder.

Once they had climbed up to the main area, John looked around the room. It seemed to be like it was in the game, except for the addition of a piano next to the table with the old man, whom Aeris walked up to.

"Excuse me sir, but did some people come by here?"

"You must be with that group then," said the man as he looked at her and then John, "They're downstairs, or doctor's tending to that girl."

"Thank you," said John as he headed in the direction of the ladder without asking without asking where it was, "C'mon Aeris."

"Yeah, I'm coming" said Aeris as she followed him and noticed that he was going down a ladder that she hadn't seen before.

_That's strange…how did he know where that ladder was without asking? It wasn't visible from where we were standing…has he been here before?_

Her thoughts were sidelined however when she saw the agonized look on Tifa's face and rushed over to her with John. She was lying on a bed and the doctor had taken off her bandages, examining her wound.

"This is quite a deep wound; may I ask how it happened?"

"We were fighting a Zolom in the marsh and…well, you can guess the rest," said Barret.

"You fought a Zolom and lived to tell the tale? That means that you must have won the battle, that is quite an accomplishment," said the doctor as he raised his eyebrows.

"That doesn't matter in comparison to this," said Cloud, "Will she be all right?"

"Yes, you brought her here before the wound was infected, so she'll be fine."

"How long will her recovery take?"

"It depends what you mean by "recovery"," said the Doctor.

"How long until I'm well enough to travel?" cut in Tifa, "We're on an important journey."

"Tifa-" began Cloud.

"No Cloud," she stopped him, "We can't afford to be stopped for too long. How long until I can travel?"

"Well," started the doctor, "Two days might be enough-"

"All right then," said Tifa, "We'll leave the day after tomorrow."

"Tifa, are you sure you'll be alright by then?" asked John.

"Yes, don't worry about me," replied Tifa simply.

"In that case, I'll get to work here," said the doctor, "Feel free to walk around. This is a resistance base against the Shinra as you probably know."

Cloud nodded in response, understanding that they were on the same side.

"Aeris, are you all right?" asked Tifa, "I saw that light again, the same one that-"

"It's all right Tifa," said Aeris, "I was the one who did that spell, so don't worry."

"A young woman such as yourself performed that attack!" exclaimed the doctor as he continued work, "That is quite astounding."

"Yes, well…" began Aeris before losing words.

"…better us doing it than them, right?" stepped in John.

Aeris looked over at him and smiled with a light sigh of relief.

"Right."

* * *

A while later, the doctor had finished re-bandaging her wound and most of the team had gone upstairs for some food, leaving Cloud and Tifa alone.

"Tifa…" began Cloud as he leaned against the wall, "Looks like I couldn't keep my promise, again…"

"Oh Cloud…you didn't do anything wrong," she said as she leaned on her elbows and moved backwards so her back was against the wall, "It's my fault that I'm in this condition."

"But-"

"No Cloud, don't try to make up an excuse, you know it too. I should have kept my eye on the Zolom, I'm lucky I'm not dead," she said clearly.

"Tifa…I'm sure the others won't mind staying here for a bit more than two days so you get better…"

"But I will mind, Cloud. It's not good that we have to wait so long anyways, what if Sephiroth's already across the ocean when we're not even halfway to Junon from here? What then?"

Before Cloud could think up a reply, she continued.

"And if he manages to cross and Shinra finds out, it'll be impossible to get a boat since they'll be on high alert. What after that Cloud? After all that we risked getting Aeris out of the prison, you really want her to end up back there?"

"No…" said Cloud quietly as he looked down.

_Wow…she must have had those responses ready…_

"All right then, I'm glad we got that sorted," said Tifa before sighing and continuing, "Cloud, what happened back at the mine?"

"What?"

"With John. Why did he run off?"

"Oh that…it was nothing," he said as he looked away.

Tifa looked at him for a few seconds before speaking.

"Why do I doubt that? Cloud-"

"Look Tifa, I said it was nothing," Cloud snapped, "Can you just drop it?"

Tifa didn't say anything, continuing to look at Cloud with slight disappointment.

"…sorry," said Cloud, "I didn't mean to sound so harsh."

A moment of silence came until Tifa tried to ask a different question.

"…should we be worried about something?"

Cloud sighed before looking at her and replying.

"…I don't know Tifa…right now, I just don't know…"

After another moment of silence, Tifa tried to get up and Cloud rushed over to her.

"Careful, if you really want to get out of here as soon as you can, then you can't overexert yourself right now."

"You're right; I think I'd like to get something to eat. Let's go upstairs."

"Sure…" said Cloud simply as he picked her up and climbed the ladder to where the others were.

* * *

"Hey there," said John as he saw them, "You feeling better?"

"Yeah," said Tifa with a smile as Cloud brought her to the table and set her down.

As the team ate, Tifa looked over at the piano and smiled again.

"I used to have one in my room…" she said as she looked downwards as unkind memories returned.

"I took some lessons when I was a kid," said John, "I think I remember how to play some songs."

"Oh, could you play something for us later?" asked Tifa.

"Uhh…sure," replied John uneasily.

"…so what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" cut in Barret, "We gotta keep busy somehow, I have to at least."

"I was thinking," said Cloud, "That I could continue training John and Aeris during these two days; make the most of the time here."

"That's a good plan," said Barret, "I guess I'll try to learn more about this resistance force, we do have the same enemy after all…"

"Are you sure you're up to it Aeris?" asked Red as he looked over at her, "You've been through a lot in the past 24 hours."

"I'm fine Red," lied Aeris slightly, "In fact, I think I can go right now, how about it Cloud?"

With that, she stood up at looked Cloud directly in the eyes with one foot slowly stepping backwards.

"Well, if you're up to it…"

"All right then, I'll see you outside," said Aeris as she grabbed her staff and ran to the rope leading outside.

_I hope he takes his time so I can have a little breather before we start…_

"She tries so hard to keep up even though she could use some rest…" said Tifa in a melancholy tone.

"That's not a good thing," said Red, "If she continues dashing off into things she's not prepared, she's going to wind up dead."

John nearly dropped the cup he was holding and quickly moved his eyes around the table to make sure that no one had noticed.

"That's quite cynical, isn't it?" asked Tifa, not really wanting an answer.

"It's the truth unfortunately, she's got to know her limits if she's going someone as dangerous as you are describing," said Red.

"Yeah…but what are her limits?" asked John, "Red, you saw what she did with that attack today…"

"The power of the Cetra…"

There was a slight silence around the table as nobody knew how to progress the conversation until Cloud got up.

"I'll see you guys later. John, get some rest cause you're next…" he said as he took John's staff.

"Make sure she doesn't tire you out too much then," said John with a slight chuckle and received the same in return.

* * *

"There you are," said Aeris as she sprung to her feet and gripped her staff when Cloud came out.

"Whoa, calm down, you won't learn anything by being hyperactive," said Cloud in a humorous tone.

Staying silent, Aeris tried to do as she was told as Cloud took off his swords and took hold of John's staff.

"All right then, you ready?" asked Cloud.

Aeris gave a simple nod in return.

_Suddenly I wish that I had taken a quick nap or something…_

"All right then, I'll let you attack and we'll see how you do."

Aeris tried to find a weak spot in his stance to try to attack him, but with minimal knowledge of doing that, she simply charged. She tried to hit him from the right, but Cloud was quick to block it. Aeris moved her left leg back to try to reposition herself, but before she could finish, Cloud tripped her, sending her falling and her staff fell out of her hand in surprise.

"Two mistakes there," started Cloud as he extended a hand to Aeris, "One, you basically gave me the opportunity to trip you, you have to be more tactical in your decisions, think what your opponent is going to do when you make a move. Two, all right, so I tripped you, that doesn't automatically mean that it's all over, but you dropped your weapon as well. If you fall, your foe won't wait for you to get up or get your weapon, you have to be able to block while on the ground."

"O-ok…" said Aeris as she looked down on the ground, slightly ashamed of her mistakes.

_It's not like I'm not trying…_

Cloud sighed before speaking again.

"Look…if you want, I can take it easier on you. Your strength lies more in your magic, I think the recent events have proved that, so-"

"And if someone comes close to me, what can I do then? Isn't Sephiroth skilled in both weapons and magic? Aren't you? Why can't I as well?" cut in Aeris, catching Cloud off guard.

"…all right then," he said simply as they took their positions once again.

_She has a very good point, she's strong with magic, but so is Sephiroth…_

* * *

Meanwhile, Barret had wandered away to talk to some of the rebels, leaving Tifa, John and Red at the table alone.

"Tifa, you shouldn't try to move your leg so much," said John, "It'll only make it worse."

"He's right," said Red, "The less you move, the faster the wound will heal."

"I know, I know," said Tifa with a sigh "It's just…I can't believe I was so stupid."

"Don't say that," said John.

"I don't know what else to say John," said Tifa with some irritation, "We should be going after Sephiroth right now, not sitting here."

"We'll find him, don't worry. You'll have to be at your full strength when we do that."

_I should know…_

Tifa looked at John and gave a small smile before speaking.

"Thanks."

Tifa hesitated then as she asked a question.

"John…was it bad?"

"Hm? Was what bad?"

"Back at Shinra…what Sephiroth did…"

"Oh…" said John as his eyes went to the floor, "Yeah…he was ruthless. You saw the results…they didn't have a chance, but they chose to fight him anyway."

"Did Jenova do anything?" asked Red.

"No, she just stood there; she was bleeding a lot then."

"I suppose we'll have to fight them together then?" asked Tifa to no one in particular.

"I don't know" said John, "I hope not…"

_I hope that that stays that way, if he fights us on the ship as well, we're finished…_

* * *

A while later, John walked outside to find Aeris slightly wobbling towards a rock to sit down with Cloud behind her.

"There you are, I was coming to get you," said Cloud as he tossed John his staff and took Aeris's "Let's see what you learned."

"How did she do?" asked John as he grabbed the staff.

"She did all right, she's improving," said Cloud, looking over at Aeris.

_I kinda wish she wasn't __here; I need to talk to John…_

She smiled lightly to herself and sat down.

_Finally…some rest…let's see how John does…_

"Watch yourself," she said to him.

John gave a short chuckle before rushing at Cloud and raising his staff with both hands. As he brought it down, Cloud easily blocked it by raising the other staff.

_His stomach's vulnerable again…_

Cloud decided to take the shot and prepared a kick, but to his surprise as he brought it closer to John's side, he had let go of his staff with one hand and blocked Cloud's kick with his elbow. With Cloud only on one leg, John took this opportunity to quickly trip him and pointed his staff to Cloud's face.

"What did you teach me?" he said with a smile.

"You're a quick learner; I'll give you that, but…"

Cloud didn't finish that immediately, instead John felt himself being hit just above his ankles and fell to the ground right beside Cloud.

"…an enemy that's down can still have a weapon, and they're not to be underestimated."

"Next time, I'll kick it out of your hand," said John with an annoyed sigh as he got up.

"We'll see about that," said Cloud with a chuckle as he followed.

Aeris then got up and started to head back inside.

"You guys take care of yourselves, I'll see you inside."

Cloud waited a few moments after she had disappeared and then turned to John, who was looking into the distance.

"You think that he's getting too far ahead of us?" asked John.

"I don't know, I hope not. I don't think he'd just hijack a ship, he's got to wait until one goes so that he can sneak aboard."

"There might still be time to catch up then…"

"Listen," began Cloud, "I want to ask about what happened back at the mine."

John sighed before speaking.

"I told you what happened Cloud, I described it the best I could."

"But what do you think it was? That bigger voice…"

"I don't know" said John, "but what I can say is that all of the others sounded like they were…human, and this one didn't. It felt different…"

"Different? How?"

"I'm not sure. The best way I can describe it is that it felt…more"

"More?"

"Yeah…like there was something more than what there was with all the others. Its words…I'm not sure they were even words…more like…I don't know…an atmosphere? A feeling? I really don't know…"

"Did you understand it, or the others?" asked Cloud anxiously.

"No, not at all. The others all talk over one another and I never understand what either is saying and this…this was entirely new…"

Cloud could do nothing else but nod before they returned to John's training.

* * *

That evening, after the sun had set, the team was sitting around in the main room without anything else to do. Aeris was looking off into space in the direction of a wall.

"Aeris, is everything okay?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah…I was thinking about mom and Marlene, I hope they're okay."

"I know what you mean," said Barret, "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her…"

"I'm sure they're all right," said Tifa.

Trying to change the conversation to something less worrying she turned to John.

"Hey John, you think that you could play something for us now?"

John should have expected that question, but he wasn't so sure if he wanted to. Never the less, he didn't want to let Tifa down.

"Ok…" he said simply as he got up and headed over to the piano.

John sat down and put his hands on the keys, smiling lightly.

_Hmm…haven't done this in a while, wonder what I should play?_

He looked over at Aeris and a tune came to his mind, but he quickly shook his head at that.

_No! No funeral music tonight, something that reminds me of good things…_

He looked back at the piano and continued thinking.

_C'mon now, can't keep these guys waiting by staring at the keys all night long. Wait a minute! Keys…that's it! I know just what to play now._

Smiling lightly to himself, John put his hands on top of the piano keys, closed his eyes and started to slowly play. It took him a few tries to get the rhythm of playing right because he hadn't played in a long time and never this song, but he got it very quickly. The melody was rather simple, but it was more than enough to get everyone's attention. He continued playing for about half a minute before starting to song; softly, but loud enough so that everyone could hear him.

"I just want you close"

That was all that John himself needed to bring the memories back.

"Where you can stay forever"

Memories of a life that seemed so long ago.

"You can be sure"

But in reality very little time had passed.

"That it will only get better"

"_John, you __wanna check out that bar tonight?"_

"You and me together"

"_Look, it's that chick you were with last week, what was her name again?"_

"Through the days and nights"

"_Damn, this course is killing me with all these __deadlines; I swear that guy hates us..."_

"I don't worry cause"

"_We broke up about an hour ago, should have seen it coming I guess…"_

"Everything's going to be all right"

"_Hey, stop worrying about it, you were too good for her anyway man…"_

"People keep talking"

"_Damn, we nearly crashed the car there!"_

"They can say what they like"

"_Guess this is why you shouldn't drink and drive…"_

"But all I know is"

"_I wasn't drinking…"_

"Everything's going to be all right" 

"_Okay people, we all have to find a way of bringing some money in…"_

"No one, no one, no one"

"_What I wouldn't give for a vacation right about now…"_

"Can get in the way of what I'm feeling"

"_Somewhere far way…"_

"No one, no one, no one"

"_Better get some more coffee…"_

"Can get in the way of what I feel for you"

"_Finally, it's done!"_

"You, you"

"_Yeah, let's check that place out…"_

"Can get in the way of what I feel for you"

John shook his head to try to get the voices from the past out before continuing.

"When the rain is pouring down"

But it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"And my heart is hurting"

This time, they were even more familiar.

"You will always be around"

Ones which he had heard probably more than any other.

"This I know"

"_John? John, is that you?"_

"For certain"

"_Wow, you've gotten taller since I last saw you…"_

"You and me together"

"_Aww mom, you're embarrassing me__…"_

"Through the days and nights"

"_Quite a place you've got to yourself here…"_

"I don't worry cause"

"_Thanks Dad…"_

"Everything's going to be all right"

"_John, can you help me out with this?"_

"People keep talking"

"_Hm? Oh sure…"_

"They can say what they like"

"_That suit really looks sharp on you…"_

"But all I know is"

"_All right then, see you next time…"_

"Everything's going to be all right" 

"_Don't make it too long…"_

"No one, no one, no one"

Cloud had noticed that John's face was looking quite tense as he sung, and he was much louder than he was initially.

"Can get in the way of what I'm feeling"

Tifa was making a similar observation, but something else was puzzling her as well.

"No one, no one, no one"

Aeris saw tension in John as well, concerned about what was troubling him.

"Can get in the way of what I feel for you"

John however, did not notice their looks.

"You, you"

He was caught in a mental limbo.

"Can get in the way of what I feel"

Trying to shake the voices away, John retreated into his thoughts.

"I know"

_It wasn't a good idea to do this…_

"Some people search the world"

_Too many memories…_

"To find"

_Hadn't happened before…_

"Something like what we have"

_Wait!_

"I know"

_I haven't done it…_

"People will try, try to divide"

_Why?_ "Something so real"

_Why didn't I do it before?_

"So till the end of time I'm telling you there ain't no one"

_Why didn't I think about what I left behind?_

"No one, no one"

_My family…_

"Can get in the way of what I'm feeling"

_My friends…_

"No one, no one, no one"

_My life…_

"Can get in the way of what I feel for you"

_Myself?_

"Oh oh oh oh oh"

John was very loud now.

"Oh oh oh oh oh"

There was a strain in his voice, and everyone saw it.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh"

Frankly, at that moment, he didn't really care.

"Oh oh oh oh oh"

He was letting out frustration.

"Oh oh oh oh oh"

And for a moment, everything else disappeared.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh"

John continued to play as for the first time since he had arrived, he wasn't thinking about Aeris's future, or the voices, or the confrontation with Sephiroth, or what was next for the team. He was simply thinking about himself as his playing slowly died down and he opened his eyes. He was breathing heavily, exhausted from the final part of the song, but he managed to say something loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"I think I have to get some air."

Before anyone else could say anything, John got up and quickly headed for the top exit. It wasn't until about a minute after they heard the door shut that the others began to speak.

"…what was that about?" asked Barret.

"He sounded very…I don't know," said Aeris, "It's not quite "sad" or "angry", but something of the sort…"

"It must have been a very persona song for him…" said Red before looking over at Tifa, "Tifa, what's the matter? You look like you want to say something."

Tifa was silent for a few moments before sighing slowly and began to speak.

"I noticed something that…I'm not sure what to think about."

"What is it?" asked Cloud.

"Look, you guys don't notice this stuff I understand. Barret, you're always busy with planning and Cloud, you must have been on the road a lot as a mercenary."

_If that is what you really are, I have my doubts…_

"Tifa, what are you getting at?" asked Barret.

She sighed once again before replying.

"I've run a bar for the past few years and always played music for the customers to relax and…I assure you that I have never, ever heard that song that he just played."

There was another period of silence around the table before Red opened his mouth.

"What does that mean?"

Tifa waited a while before replying.

"…I don't know."

Cloud tried to find a solution, but to no avail.

"Are you sure? Maybe you just-"

"No Cloud, I'm certain and I'm very serious. I would have known or remembered at least a part…"

Red was suddenly reminded of what he saw at the chocobo ranch and decided to ask a question that he anxious to receive an answer to.

"Hey…how did John join up with you guys?" he asked, trying to sound as casual as he could.

"…I recruited him for AVALANCHE," said Tifa.

"When?"

"…about a week ago."

"That's it?" asked Red, surprised, "Did you know him before?"

"No…I'd never seen him," said Tifa, "But he looked…lost when I saw him, just like he was just now…"

After some more silence, Aeris finally stood up.

"I'm going to see how he is."

She started to walk the same way that John had gone, but then slowly stopped, speaking before continuing.

"And I suggest that you guys wind your conversation down…"

* * *

John sat outside near the condor, looking into the distance and rubbing his eyes while taking deep breaths.

_I haven't done it __yet; I've been so excited and caught up in this place that I haven't thought about what I left behind…_

John sighed and looked up at the stars.

_I wonder how they're all doing…do they miss me?_

John blinked rather hard, lightly shaking his head before looking back up.

_What am I thinking? Of course they miss me, like I miss them. I wonder if they're trying to find me…what happened to the TV in my room?_

Before he could ponder more, he heard the door open and saw Aeris step out.

"Hey there, mind if I sit down as well?" she asked.

"Make yourself at home," he said as he scooted a bit aside while she closed the door before sitting down next to him.

"…that was really nice," she said after a few moments had passed.

"Thanks," he said simply as he continued staring.

"…something was bothering you though," she said as she looked down, "You didn't look like you were all there…"

"Oh…" said John, not knowing what else to do.

_She's good at telling this sort of stuff, I should have known…_

Aeris stayed silent and John knew that she was expecting him to tell her what it was.

_Oh, what the hell, I'll tell her a bit…_

"It's just…I really miss my home…"

She stayed silent as he continued.

"I miss my mother, I miss my father, I miss my little brother…I miss my friends…"

John gave a sigh and continued to stare after he had finished. After a minute or so, Aeris spoke quietly.

"…it must have been a really nice life. I've always wondered what that would be like, to have a family and friends. I mean, I love my mom and all, but…"

John suddenly felt extremely guilty at what he had said. At least he had those things somewhere; Aeris didn't have them at all.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone on like that…" he started.

"No, no, no. Don't say that," she quickly cut in, "You should miss them. I know I would if I had something like that…"

John still felt bad and tried to cheer her up somehow.

"Hey…come on. You have a mother who loves you very much and you've got us."

Aeris gave a bizarre chuckle which seemed to have an undertone of both innocence and bitterness before speaking again.

"Yes, but my mother doesn't understand me…you know what I'm talking about. She wants to, she really does, but she just can't," she said before taking a pause and continuing, "And about my friends…it sounds like you'd rather be somewhere else than here…"

John looked at her with a shocked face as he tried to find his voice.

"T-that's not true…"

She then gave a light giggle before speaking again.

"He he, I understand what you mean, I do…"

They stayed silent again until Aeris spoke.

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"If you miss them so much, why did you leave them?"

"…let's just say that I didn't really have a choice."

"Well then, maybe we'll be at your home sooner or later if this journey takes us there."

Aeris was surprised to hear John do nothing but chuckle in a rather deep voice in response.

_She doesn't get it, _he thought humorously to himself, _But then again, how could she? How could any of them?_

They continued to look into the distance for a while longer before John got up.

"Come on; let's go back inside, we might catch a cold."

Aeris gave a light smile and got up.

"Sure."

* * *

The next morning came rather quickly and Tifa was still as annoyed as she had been the previous day as she sat at the table with her leg on another chair while Cloud was training John and Aeris outside. Red had gone to the upper part of the fort to look out of the window. Their regular clothes were getting washed, so Tifa was in a regular white shirt which was rather loose and her underwear as the pair of jeans she bought could not be put on because they would disturb the bandages, which annoyed her.

_This is a __killer; I can't believe I allowed myself to get to this point, ugh! I'm some sort of show for others to look at…_

Indeed, her legs and chest had gotten more than several looks from the rebels, as well as occasional glances from her teammates (Aeris had bizarrely complemented her on how well tanned her legs were earlier that morning.)

"Tifa, you gotta chill out," said Barret, who was wearing clothes similar to his other set, the only difference was that these were all black, "You're not making things better for your leg. Besides, it's getting better."

Barret was right, when the doctor had changed her bandages this morning, the wound was looking much better than it previously was. However, that didn't do much to cool Tifa off.

Just then, John walked in with Cloud and Aeris behind him as he went to get a bottle of water.

"How're the lessons going?" asked Tifa to no one in particular, wanting some sort of companionship in her annoyed state.

"They're getting better," said Cloud.

Cloud had opted for a similar alternate outfit as Tifa as he was in a simple black shirt and a pair of blue jeans. John had on the same clothes as Cloud, while Aeris had chosen to be a bit more…unusual. She had on a green skirt that ended just above her knee and a button up blouse which was also green. Her hair wasn't braided as it was usually; Tifa had helped her tie it up so that it wouldn't hinder her movements.

_She'd be a hit at a St. __Patrick's Day parade, that's for sure._

Nevertheless, John was glad to see Aeris outside her usual pink, and she was noticing this as she looked back and giggled.

"John, you're staring again."

"Oh, uhh…sorry."

Barret could only laugh in response.

"Don't be sorry John, you're a regular red-blooded man and should be noticing attractive females and reacting. Besides, it's not like Spike over there's giving them the attention they deserve."

All eyes now switched to Cloud who was badly failing at stopping himself from blushing.

"I'll be waiting outside, you guys got ten minutes."

With that, he simply turned around and headed for the rope again. Once he had left, Barret spoke again.

"Guess he wasn't much of a ladies' man back when you were kids as well Tifa, am I right?"

"Well…not really…" said Tifa, trying to sound convincing.

_Actually, Cloud and I didn't spend much time as kids…_

She tried to get her mind off of Cloud and their past by turning to John.

"John, I never got to thank you for what you did last night. That was really great."

"Oh, thanks, it was nothing," he lied slightly and they knew it.

"By the way, where was that song from?" she tried to ask as casually as she could.

"Oh you know," said John, trying not to sound too suspicious, "Here and there…"

"Oh…"

John finished drinking his water and poured a bit in his hair to wash away the sweat, his shirt getting slightly wet and sticking to his chest slightly.

"There, that's better," he laughed lightly as he ran his hands through his hair.

Barret laughed again as he saw the scene in front of him.

"John, now it looks like the ladies are taking notice of a young man in the room…"

John looked at the two women to see them both blushing and looking at the floor, not wanting to make eye contact as he put the bottle down.

"I think I'll go outside and see what Cloud's up to…"

Once John had left, Aeris looked at Tifa and it only took about two seconds for both of them to burst out in laughter.

"I'm going to go see what Red is up to," said Barret as he headed up, not wanting to watch this any longer.

Still laughing, Aeris sat down next to Tifa and tried to calm herself down.

"So Tifa…just between us girls…"

"Yeah?" said Tifa as she tried to stop herself from laughing as well.

"When you were growing up…did you ever have a crush on Cloud?"

"Aeris!" said Tifa as she started to laugh again, somewhat surprised.

"Not even a little one?" asked the flower girl, still giggling.

"Well…maybe…actually, I don't remember…" said Tifa with a blush as Aeris laughed at her response, "What?"

"No no, it's nothing; it just makes this whole thing funnier."

"You must have had someone you liked when you were a kid as well…"

"Yeah, but I don't know what happened to them," said Aeris, still smiling, "Guess you ended up luckier than I did."

Tifa couldn't help but laugh a bit as well.

"Well…if you can call this luck," she said, pointing to her leg, "What about that guy you told me about, the one who never came back?"

"Oh, he probably found someone else; he was quite a player…"

"You know how to pick them…" said Tifa as she giggled.

"Them? Who's them? I don't think I told you about anyone else," said Aeris, somewhat confused.

"Oh you don't have to tell me…" said Tifa in a sly voice.

"You don't mean- Oh come on!" went Aeris as Tifa started to laugh again.

"Come on what? "You're staring again". You sounded like you take note whenever he looks at you."

"Isn't that usual? Don't you notice when someone looks at you?" asked Aeris as she tried to stop herself from blushing.

"Yes, but…not always like that… and I don't point it out like that…if you catch my drift," said Tifa as she chuckled again, "and you stared…"

"Whatever" said Aeris as she chuckled, "But you shouldn't be so suspicious of him…"

"I know, I know," said Tifa, "I feel a bit guilty for being like that since I was the one who brought him on board…"

"And uh…" began Aeris as she gave light chuckle, "You stared too…"

The two women enjoyed another laugh before Aeris got up.

"All right, I better get out there before they forget about me. Try to not get your blood boiling or else those bandages will melt off…" said Aeris as she walked away.

Tifa laughed as her friend went down the rope from her sight. She was enjoying this, having another female on the road to talk with. She was usually around men and Jessie had been great and all, but at times she was too much of a tomboy most of the time with her machines and bombs… Aeris was the first genuine female friend that she had made in her adult life…and it felt good to have someone like that to talk about silly stuff like this.

_It sure helps take my mind off of everything else…_

* * *

Once she got outside, Aeris saw John and Cloud trying to land a blow on one another with their staffs, but neither was gaining an advantage. Cloud saw her and tossed her the staff he was holding while he went over to take his Buster Sword.

"All right, now you two try to work together to take me down."

"Are you sure about this?" asked John as Aeris came over to his side.

"Positive," replied Cloud as he dashed and swung his sword at John, who blocked it.

Aeris tried to swing her staff at Cloud, but he managed to kick it away before it made contact. Aeris held on to her weapon, but lost her balance and Cloud took this opportunity to trip her. He tried to move his leg to kick her staff away, but he saw John take another swing at him. He blocked it with his sword and tackled John, making him fall to the ground, but as he turned around Aeris had placed her staff in the ground and used it to get off the ground and deliver a kick to Cloud's back, sending him to the ground. But before she got it out of the ground and John got back up, Cloud was already back on his feet.

"Missed your chance."

They continued doing this periodically throughout the afternoon and Cloud did have to admit that both John and Aeris were progressing very well. Sometime well into the afternoon as the sun was making its way towards the edge, the three of them were drenched in sweat and heaving.

"All right," said Cloud as he took another deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to get it out of his face as the effect of the gel had been damaged and now bits of it hung down everywhere, "That'll be enough for today. Well done."

John gave a loud sight as he wiped his hair from his forehead as well while Aeris leaned against her staff and breathed. She closed her eyes and then opened them, noticing something in the distance.

"Hey, what's that?" she asked as she pointed.

John and Cloud looked out and were shocked at what they saw; a figure in a black hood was making its way from the mine in the direction of Junon.

"Is that the same guy we saw?" asked Cloud.

"No…it's probably another, that one was gone by last morning I think…"

"Another? What are you guys talking about?" asked Aeris, "Do you know who that is?"

"No," lied John, "But we saw someone just like that back at the mine while we were away from you guys. I don't know who they are, but I think that we should keep away for now…"

"I agree," said Cloud, "I got chills from the one at the mine and this one is doing the same."

They looked at the figure slowly walking in a seeming aimless way for about a minute before Cloud spoke again.

"Let's go inside, and not a word of this to the others yet…"

* * *

That night, John did not sleep well as a nightmare of a questionable future took hold of him. He didn't know how, but somehow he was already at the altar in the Forgotten Capital and Aeris stood praying in front of him. He also caught the sight of a growing shadow behind her and looked up to see Sephiroth swooping down, Masamune pointed to kill the flower girl.

"Aeris!" yelled John as he ran forward to push her out of its way. 

Just as his hand was about to reach her however, he felt someone stop him and as another hand on his outstretched arm just before it reached Aeris. John looked to his side in anger and was shocked to find that it was himself who was holding him back.

"What are you doing! Let me go!" shouted John at himself. 

The other looked at him with a stern look for a few moments before finally letting go. John wasted no time in reaching for Aeris once again, but just as he touched her, Sephiroth came down. Instead of the sound of a blade cutting through skin, there was only a flash that appeared out of nowhere and was suddenly everywhere. Overwhelmed, John had no choice but to shut his eyes and bring his other arm to cover his face as he tried to grab Aeris.

_Dammit, where is she? What's going on?_

John then felt the light die down and suddenly felt himself standing on a different sort of ground. Rather hesitantly, he opened his eyes and was shocked at what he saw. He was on a field and there were bodies in front of him, bodies of people he knew. He saw all of AVALANCHE, including those who hadn't joined yet. Aeris was present as well, and so was Sephiroth, as were Rufus, Reeve and the Turks. The one which most disturbed John however was the still form of himself, lying right at his feet.

_They're all dead…_

John then felt a heat behind him and turned around to see a giant sphere of flames coming down from the sky, descending on Midgar.

_No…_

* * *

John shot up and squeezed the covers, breathing heavily.

_Damn…what was that?_

John looked over at Aeris who was sleeping peacefully and sighed before getting up.

_Gotta get some air…_

He slowly walked up the stairs and onto the reactor top where he laid down and looked at the stars.

_What was that…Aeris was there…and everyone else…I was there too… Why were we all dead? Why was she here when Meteor-_

At that moment, the realization hit John and his pupils widened.

_Of course! Aeris! She's supposed to call Holy and the Lifestream to stop Meteor…from the other side. But if she's here…can she do the same? _

"John?" came a voice from behind.

John leaned up looked around to see Cloud standing there, lightly rubbing one of his eyes.

"What are you doing up this early?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep," said John, "Bad dream…"

"Was it about what happened today?"

"Not really…" said John, trying to hint that he wasn't really in the mood to talk.

_More about what might happen…_

Cloud seemed to get the message when he spoke again.

"…all right, try to get some more sleep before tomorrow; we'll have to travel fast."

With that, Cloud went back down, leaving John alone.

_Travel fast…it'll be time to go to the temple before I know it…and we'll still meet Sephiroth before that. I've got to find out what he knows…_

John looked up at the sky one more time before heading in and thought of his home.

_I hope I can see you guys again…_

* * *

The next morning, John stood in his regular clothes along with most of AVALANCHE at the entrance, rubbing his eyes. The stay had seemed to have the opposite effect on him than what it should have been. Instead of being re-energized, he felt more exhausted than ever from the past two days. The trip down memory lane and the dream had given him two very difficult nights.

"Thank you for everything," said Tifa, who was standing on her own legs, although the wound was still bandaged, to the doctor.

"Don't mention it," he replied, "Now you be careful, don't overwork it too much and try not to get anything in the wound." 

"I'll make sure of that," said Tifa as Barret picked her up to take her down to the grass.

"Good bye," said Cloud and the others as they slowly headed off after Barret.

John however stood still, staring off into the distance.

"John," Cloud's voice snapped him out of his trance "You coming?"

John was silent for a few moments as he continued to look into nowhere before turning his gaze to Cloud.

"Yeah."

Once Cloud had turned around and started to walk, he moved his eyes over to Aeris for a few more seconds before sighing to himself. With that, John started to walk after AVALANCHE, the closest thing he had in this world to family and friends, on a mission that suddenly seemed more difficult than ever.

* * *

Well, I hope that you liked it. I was not sure of how I was going to connect John with his world in the fic, so I decided on having him do a song, a song which was quite popular when I was writing this. I was going to do either Timbaland's Apologize or No One because I have heard both of them in many different places over the past few months. I went with No One in the end because it requires more constant playing. That whole scene was rather difficult to write and it took over a month for me to do it from the time I came up with the concept to when I finished it. I also hope I did the flashbacks and thoughts nicely during the song. Anyway, thanks for reading up to this point and stay tuned for more, whenever that will be... 


	27. Chapter XXVII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Like all the times before, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

Well, it's been over three months, but I finally have a new chapter. It's not long, but it keeps the story moving for now. Enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXVII

At a bar in Junon, four figures in black suits sat down and ordered drinks.

"Reno, are you sure you aren't going overboard with the heavy drinks?" asked Tseng.

"It's not like we have anything else to do. We've searched this whole city and the slum underneath it for the past two days and haven't found a thing," replied Reno in somewhat of an annoyed tone.

"We shouldn't expect Cloud and the others to be here yet," said Rude, "Tifa's injury probably slowed them down. I wouldn't be surprised if they took a few days off at Fort Condor until she heals, they might still be there…"

"Then why don't we got there and get them while they're weak?" asked Elena, somewhat bored.

"Because those aren't our orders Elena," said Tseng, "Rufus just wants to keep an eye on them."

"So we're just supposed to guess where they'll go next and beat them there?"

"…not quite," said Tseng, "We'll soon have an eye from the inside."

"Hm? What does that mean?" asked Rude, "Are you talking about a spy?"

"Precisely," replied Tseng, "Reeve has been working on some sort of creature that can be controlled by remote from anywhere on the planet thanks to our satellite. We'll just get it to join up with them at some point."

"I don't think you give them enough credit," said Rude as their drinks arrived, "One of them is bound to figure out the truth at some point. What then?"

"Rufus said that he'd think of something…" said Tseng, knowing the likely option.

_Taking hostages…dirty, but nearly always effective. None of them really have relatives though, except-_

"I still don't see why we should allow them to just walk around," said Elena, derailing Tseng's train of thought, "They might pose to be a real danger soon…"

"Elena, we're Turks. Our job is to follow orders, regardless of whether they make sense to us or not," explained Tseng.

"So none of you have ever questioned your orders?" asked Elena.

After a resounding headshake of "no" from the three men, she looked over to Reno.

"Not even you?"

"Well…I have to admit that I wasn't exactly for the former President's plan of destroying the pillar in Sector Seven, but I never asked him to reconsider it. It wasn't my place," said Reno as he downed his drink in one gulp, "Yo, gimme another!"

"Come to think of it," started Rude, "How are we supposed to find Sephiroth when he arrives? That is, if he's not here already…"

"That's a good question Rude," said Tseng, "One that I'm not sure I have an answer to. I doubt that he's just going to be waltzing through the city."

"After what he did at Headquarters, maybe you should be more worried about what we're going to do if we find him…" said Reno rather lazily.

* * *

Towards the end of the following afternoon, AVALANCHE was making its way through a forest. Tifa was walking on her own, despite Barret's protests that it was too soon.

"Maybe it would have been better to go around this place…" said Aeris as she lifted her dress slightly and made sure to not trip over any vines.

"It would have taken too long," said Cloud, "Sephiroth is already well ahead of us, so we need to take the shortest route to Junon. I just hope that he's still on this continent…"

"Tifa, how are you doing?" asked John as he looked back.

"I'm better, I hope to be able to fight by the time we're in Junon, if not sooner," replied Tifa as Barret watched, making sure that there were no obstacles that she would fall over.

"I still think it would be better if I carried you…" mumbled Barret slightly.

"No Barret," said Red, "If Sephiroth is as fearsome as they're describing him, Tifa needs to be in a shape to fight him as soon as possible. He won't care for her injuries…"

That was enough to silence Barret for a few minutes, until he suddenly spoke up again.

"Stop!"

"What is it?" asked John quickly as he froze.

"We're not alone…"

"What?" asked Aeris with surprise in her voice.

"He's right," said Red, "We've been followed by someone for the past few minutes. I've heard it from the trees, they've been moving against the breeze at times…"

"Same here," said Cloud as he took off his backpack and the others followed, "I wasn't too sure though, how many are there?"

"I think just one," said Red, "for now at least…"

_Yuffie…_ thought John, _I forgot about her…_

"We know you're there! Come on out!" yelled Barret as he pointed his gun arm into the trees.

John looked closely around the area that Barret was pointing at and saw a small figure pulling something back.

"Barret, get down!" yelled John as he rushed at the large man and pushed him to the ground just as a large projectile whizzed by where he had stood less than a second ago before it dug into the ground. They didn't have time to make another move as the owner leapt down and delivered a swift kick to John's face as she leaned down to retrieve her weapon, sending him flying off Barret.

"Oww…" moaned John as he clutched his jaw.

"It's…a girl?" questioned Barret as he got up.

"And what is that supposed to mean?!" yelled the attacker leaned back before lunging at Barret.

Barret was ready to hit her hard with his gun arm, but he did not get the chance as Tifa managed to intercept her in mid-air with a kick from her good leg. Unfortunately for her, she lost her balance as a result and fell backwards, clutching her wound in pain.

"Stay down Tifa," said John as he got in front of her to make sure that she was safe from their foe, "Save your strength for more important fights…"

"More important? I don't think you understand just who you're up against!" exclaimed the attacker with annoyance.

"Let's take care of this quickly, we need to be moving," said Aeris as she extended her staff and began to concentrate on the Lightning materia.

"Aeris, no!" exclaimed Cloud as he saw what she was doing, "If one of the bolts hits a tree, it could start a fire."

Realizing his words, the Cetra quickly stopped her spell and brought her staff back. She had no time to think of a next move as the ninja jumped at her and delivered a kick straight to her chest, sending her falling back.

_Keep your weapon tight Aeris… _the flower merchant told herself as her grip on her weapon strengthened, remembering her recent lesson from Cloud.

A few seconds after she hit the dirt, Aeris saw the attacker above her, weapon in hand and ready to strike down. She was quick to raise her staff and block it. The intruder had no time to respond to the defense as Cloud hit her from behind by his elbow and followed it up, by a kick to her side, sending her staggering away from Aeris.

"Thanks," said Aeris as she took his extended hand and lifted herself up.

"Looks like you're learning," said Cloud, making her lightly blush.

"All right, that's it! You're really gonna get it now!" yelled the ninja as she prepared herself for another attack.

She never got to deliver it however as a green, sticky projectile hit her in the face and sent her to the ground, her weapon falling out of her hand from surprise and bringing a chuckle to Aeris as she and Cloud looked over to see John with his staff outstretched.

_Hope that worked…_

"Ugh, what is this stuff?!" exclaimed the girl as she tried to get it off of her face before beginning to wobble as she tried to get up, "I-I don't feel so well… What did you do?"

"That was a poison spell," explained John as Cloud kicked the attacker's weapon away, "If something isn't done, well…"

"You mean I'll DIE?!" yelled the girl in fear, "N-no-please don't… I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry, it probably wasn't that strong," said John as he went over to his backpack and pulled a vial out, "Besides, I wouldn't have done something like that if I didn't have an antidote with me-"

"Antidote? Please, Please give it, please!" begged the former threat.

"I don't know if I should…" said John in a deliberately sly voice as he looked over at Cloud to continue.

"Yes, he does have a point. You might try to attack us again…" followed up the leader of AVALANCHE.

"No no no, I swear. Please…"

Cloud seemed to take a moment to think as the girl coughed a bit before nodding at John, who threw the antidote at the former threat who managed to catch it.

"So now what?" asked Red as he watched her rapidly drink it down.

"Who knows?" replied Cloud as they waited for her to get up.

"Ha!" exclaimed the girl as she stood up, "Haven't you heard of never trusting your enemies?"

No response came from anyone, unless you counted Tifa rolling her eyes as she leaned back against a tree.

"So what do you say? You want to go another round?" asked the former threat, weapon in hand.

"…not interested," was the simple reply for Cloud, before he turned to the others, "Let's go, we don't want to fall even more behind."

Receiving nods of approval, Tifa got up and the group started to walk away, leaving the girl standing.

"Hey wait, do you want me to come with you?" she asked, slightly throwing Cloud off.

_What?! Bring her along? Well, I guess we could use the extra __strength; she is somewhat skilled when she's quiet that is…_

He simply shrugged and simply replied, "If you want to."

As the team continued on, the girl started to run after them, giving a hasty introduction."

"By the way, my name's Yuffie. Hey, can you guys hear me?"

* * *

Somewhat ahead of AVALANCHE, their true foes continued to move forward, the final destination of this continent getting closer.

"There mother, I can see Junon. We should reach it just as the sun goes down," said Sephiroth as he looked ahead.

"Good," replied the alien creature, "We would have arrived there already if we had walked faster."

"Nonsense mother, there is no need to put that much of a distance between them and us. Besides, I'm quite sure that they would have had to stop after their fight, Tifa seemed quite injured…"

"I still do not know why you had to go and see them fight," said Jenova, "It should be quite obvious that they cannot match your, and our strength."

"That may be true," said Sephiroth, "But it is always good to know just what we are up against. I learnt that during the war. Besides, I got to see firsthand the power of that Cetra."

"Yes, and from what you told me, she could be dead now."

"Somehow, I seriously doubt that. Even you were not able to annihilate the Cetra completely mother, so I doubt that a simple Zolom is capable of doing so. No, I am quite sure that her path and ours will cross more than once again…"

* * *

As the final rays of the sun left the land, Cloud approached the edge of the forest. He looked out for a few seconds before turning back to the others.

"We'll rest here for the night. We might be seen out there by the Shinra," he said as he and the others put down their backpacks.

_Or one of those hooded guys…_

"Shinra? You guys are on run from the Shinra?" asked Yuffie.

"Well technically yes, her more than the rest of us," said Red as he motioned over with his head towards Aeris.

"You? Why would a young lady like you be on the run from the Shinra?" asked Yuffie, confused somewhat.

"Umm…I'll explain later," said Aeris a bit nervously as she walked backwards a bit deeper into the woods, "I'll go get some good firewood."

"You sure you don't want some help?" asked Barret as she went off.

"No, I'll be fine," was the last word from her.

_Smart girl, she's left us to deal with the newcomer… _thought Red.

"All right, let's set up the tents," said Cloud, "Yuffie, do you have something to sleep in?"

"Yeah, I got a tent of my own. Don't worry," came the reply as she took off her bag and began to set it up.

"John, come over here and give me a hand," said Cloud.

"Okay, sure."

John walked over to Cloud and knelt down to help him with the tent.

"You've been kind of quiet since we left Fort Condor," said Cloud in a low voice so that no one else could hear, "Something on your mind?"

"You mean aside from the usual?" asked John back in a polite tone.

"Any progress on that?" was the third one.

"No, not really I guess. No."

"So it's something else?"

"You could say that..." said John as he looked inside the tent to make sure that everything was proper.

"I can't help you if you're so cryptic all the time," said Cloud as he came inside as well.

"Sorry, it's kind of hard to explain…"

_How can I say that saving our friend could lead to all of us eventually dying?_

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, not for the moment…thanks though."

_Cloud…if you could do something when the time comes, it would make my part so much easier, but I know better…_

"Thanks? For what?" asked Cloud.

"For your concern."

"Oh…you're welcome I guess…" said Cloud as they got out of the tent, making John lightly chuckle.

* * *

Deeper in the woods, Aeris slowly collected firewood. She did not mind taking her time; it wasn't like the others were going anywhere after all.

_I wonder how much longer until we reach Junon. __It would sure be nice to sleep in a bed again…_

She looked around herself for more good wood, even though she really did not know what she was looking for and giggled lightly.

_What am I thinking about? I've wanted to get out of the city forever, and I finally have my chance. I see why Zack was always so excited to go on his missions out of Midgar, even if it was just in the nearby areas…_

She sighed as she continued walking.

_Zack…__I wonder what you're doing now…where you are…I stopped even trying to trace your presence years ago… Did you find someone else? It's all right now though, you don't have to worry about me, if you ever did… I have friends now…people who I'm sure won't leave me…even after such a short amount of time together… You would have really liked Cloud, he reminds me a lot of you actually…maybe that's why you've been on my mind so much lately…_

As she continued on her way, she felt a chilly feeling go through her spine and body and slowly came to a standstill.

_What is this feeling? Something's not right here…"_

She stayed silent and was sure that she could hear something moving in the near distance.

"H-hello? Anyone there?" she asked, her voice staggering.

_Something's wrong…_

She started to hear footsteps, coming from her right and looked over in that direction. The woods were pretty thick, but she could make out a figure coming her way. It was dark and had a hood over its head.

_Oh no…it must be one of those guys…I should have gotten someone else to come with me…_

She could not move as the figure approached her. It did not have a weapon, but Aeris was quick to move all of the wood she had collected under her left arm and gripped her staff tightly with her right. As it came closer, she took a few steps back.

"S-stay back!" she quietly exclaimed.

After a few seconds of tension, she was surprised that it actually stopped. It was then that she got an idea that she could possibly regret.

_Just who…or what is this guy?_

She lightly extended her staff towards the hood and moved it backwards. What she saw made her nearly vomit and silently scream. The figure was pale, and the shade of pale that is not associated with the living. There was virtually no hair on it, and what little there was deathly white as well. The eyes were another horror as there were no pupils and no irises, just white. Its skin was hanging down at parts as well, such as certain spots around the mouth, almost as if it was in mid-paralysis.

_What…is this?!_

Breathing heavily, she decided that she wouldn't stay to find out. Without another thought she gripped her staff and the firewood tightly and started to run in the direction of the campsite, never looking back.

_I hope it doesn't follow me…_

She ran longer than she thought that she would have had to, sweat pouring down her forehead, making the hair from her bangs on the side stick to it. Eventually, she collided with something and fell backwards onto the ground.

_Oh no…what now?_

Thankfully, the voice she heard was only reassuring.

"Hey…you okay, you've been gone for some time," said Cloud.

"Cloud! I saw it! I saw it!" she exclaimed frantically.

"Whoa, calm down, what did you see?"

"One of those hooded guys like what we saw from Fort Condor!"

"What?!" he exclaimed with some shock.

"I lifted its hood…" she said with some fear and disgust in her voice, "It was…unbelievable…how was it…alive?"

Cloud sighed before looking behind Aeris into the distance for a few seconds.

"Well…I can't see anything, let's head back to the camp. You can tell me just what you saw in the meantime."

As they walked back, he couldn't help but look over his shoulder more than once, just to make sure.

* * *

John noticed that Aeris looked a bit frazzled when she arrived back with Cloud.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Uhh…yeah," she said with a look that said otherwise.

John looked over at Cloud, who also gave him a serious one. As Aeris went over to put the firewood down and Barret and Yuffie got out the meat they were going to cook and Red went over to talk with Tifa, John went over to Cloud and lowered his voice.

"What happened?"

"She saw one of those black hooded guys…" said Cloud as he looked over at Aeris.

"What?! Now?!" said John, trying to keep his voice down.

"Yeah…I didn't see anything follow us back, but we should be extra carefully tonight on guard."

John only gave a nod as he walked back to assist Barret, while Aeris got out some water and splashed some in her face.

_She looks like as if she's had quite a fright…_ thought Red to himself.

"Red?"

"Yes Tifa?"

"What's wrong? You've gone all quiet all of a sudden."

"It's nothing."

_At least I hope there's nothing, but I doubt that's the case…_

He then looked over at John and recalled the disturbing episode back at the chocobo ranch, then to Cloud and recalled his story filled with gaps and finally over to the newcomer, who did not look like anyone they had previously encountered.

_Some people these are…I bet grandpa would like to meet them…_

* * *

The meal was pretty quiet for the most part, with the team really not knowing how to properly converse with Yuffie, who seemed to just ask more and more questions. They ended up giving her a rather vague overview of their history and their goal, promising to explain better the following day and decided to turn in early.

"Do you think it was the correct thing to bring her with us?" asked Cloud as he and John changed into their night clothes.

"Yeah, her fighting skills are impressive, especially considering how old she must be…"

"How old do you think she is?"

"Sixteen? Seventeen? Somewhere around there I guess…"

There was a period of silence afterwards until John spoke up again after some thought.

"Hey Cloud, what's that?" he asked, pointing at him.

"Hm?" asked Cloud as he looked down and was slightly shocked by what he saw.

On the left side of his torso, there was a scar. Not very big, but it looked like it was deep at some point.

"I-I don't know… A scar?..." he asked randomly with surprise.

"Do you think it could have come from something in SOLDIER?" asked John, knowing very well what the cause was.

_If you know what that scar was from Cloud, and just how you got it, maybe then you wouldn't be __so confused…_

Cloud in the meantime seemed to have a hazed look for e second in his eyes as he tried to search his mind.

_SOLDIER? Yes…that must have been it…it couldn't have been anything else…_

"Yeah…it probably did…" said Cloud to John as he laid down, "Must have been something though…"

_That was strange…why couldn't I remember?... If it was quite serious, I should be able to…_

* * *

In the dark of the night, the unnatural glow of Midgar wasn't as powerful as it sued to be due to the recent terrorist attacks on two of its reactors, but maintenance teams were on track on diverting power from the other reactors to the two affected sectors, as well as the "fallen" city of Sector Seven. The brightest of these lights came from the Shinra Headquarters building in the center, where the new president was walking quickly to the laboratory.

"Good evening Mr. President, thank you for being able to make it on such short notice," said a man in a blue suit who greeted him.

"Good evening Reeve, it was no trouble rest assured. Now them, about this creation of yours…"

"Yes of course, right this way," said Reeve as he led Rufus towards a peculiar creature.

Rufus walked forward and examined it. It was on a stand, was quite small, and did not seem like much of a threat.

"It's… a cat?"

"Cait Sith to be more precise. It's robotic and I can control it remotely, watch," said Reeve as he took out a controller and held it with both hands.

Rufus saw as the cat walked, did some flips and even spoke, but had doubts about its usefulness.

"Reeve, I do have to say that this is quite a creation, but I do not see how it is meant to help us. We need something which can fight alongside AVALANCHE and gain their trust. This cat does not look like it is going to be able to do that."

Reeve only smiled in return. He then moved the cat to a corner of the room and made it jump on top of something.

_Hm? What is that?_

As the creature began to move toward him, Rufus's eyes widened.

"Is that a moogle? It's huge!" he exclaimed.

"This artificial moogle is equipped with sensors to recognize Cait Sith's voice and follow his every command. This is what he will be fighting with," explained Reeve.

"That is…very impressive, you've outdone yourself here Reeve," commended Rufus.

"Thank you Mr. President. The only question that remains is where we shall have Cait Sith meet up with Cloud if that is needed."

"Hmm…they are looking to cross the ocean," said Rufus, "If they do…they will have to pass the area with Gold Saucer, maybe even visit it. That is where we can have them meet. He can be one of the many attractions at Gold Saucer."

"Such as a fortune teller…" continued Reeve.

"Excellent idea Reeve, we can transport Cait Sith to Gold Saucer in a few days then I hope."

"Of course, I will begin to make arrangements immediately," said Reeve before slightly changing the subject, "So you're leaving very soon as well?"

"Yes," replied Rufus, "I am going to take a helicopter to Junon tomorrow and take a ship from there."

"Why a ship?"

"It's good publicity. The public hasn't seen me since the funeral, I believe that that will be a good opportunity to re-affirm their trust in Shinra."

"So you're likely going to be in Junon at the same time as AVALANCHE and Sephiroth? Doesn't that seem quite dangerous?" asked Reeve.

"Yes, but after what happened here, it's clear that safety is no longer certain. If I go out, it will at least be somewhat on my own terms."


	28. Chapter XXVIII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As with all the times before, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

Been a while again, I know. If you like the Turks, then you should enjoy this since they're in about half of the chapter.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXVIII

"Cloud, hey Cloud," whispered John as he poked the leader of the group.

"Hm? What?" mumbled Cloud as he woke up and looked above him to see a fully dressed John leaning over him.

"Shh," went John as he put a finger to his lips.

"Is something wrong?" asked Cloud.

"No, get dressed; I want to get a head start in front of the others."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes, they can take care of themselves. They'll have Barret with them. Now let's go."

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to convince John otherwise and not being in the mood to argue, Cloud started to get dressed while John wrote a note and took some food for them to eat.

* * *

"Reno, wake up. Wake up man!" exclaimed Tseng in annoyance as he shook the fellow Turk who fell off the couch.

The red-headed Turk had gone out the previous evening and Tseng and the others gave up hope of waiting for him a short time after midnight and turned in.

"We're picking Rufus up at the airport today. What happened to you When did you get back?" continued Tseng as Reno slowly regained his sense of coordination and equilibrium.

"Stop yelling Tseng," moaned Reno as he rubbed his eyes, "I got back around 7 I think. I went to a club, got some chick, went back to her place…figure out the rest."

"Geez Reno," replied Tseng as he rolled his eyes, "We have a very serious mission ahead of us. It's nearly 11. You missed breakfast because we couldn't wake you up earlier. Rufus is arriving in about an hour; the press is going to be there. Now is not the time to be chasing women."

"Okay okay," mumbled Reno as he went past Rude and Elena towards the bathroom, "Besides, you know there's a better term for what I was chasing than women. I'll give you a hint; it has the same number of letters…"

Tseng didn't have the time to make a remark back as Reno slammed the door and the sound of the shower was heard. He looked over at Elena who seemed to be trying to hide a look of disgust on her face.

_So this is what it's going to be like…working with men…_

"Don't think we're all like that Elena," said Rude almost as if he had read her mind, "That's just Reno, and he doesn't mean it towards women that he knows as friends."

"And how many would that be?" asked Elena as she looked over to him.

"Nearly nonexistent," replied Rude as he looked back at her, "But you're one of them, so consider yourself lucky."

"He's right," said Tseng, "Trust me, it isn't until you're backed into a corner and it seems like your finished, only to be saved by him, that you appreciate his companionship."

"Are you talking about me out there?" came Reno's voice from the shower.

"No!" yelled Rude, "Why would we?"

Although profanities were his only reward, Elena saw the usually silent man give a warm smile.

* * *

Tifa opened up her and Aeris's tent and walked out to stretch carefully, only to nearly fall back as she noticed something.

"Is something wrong?" asked Aeris as she stepped out as well.

"One of the tents is gone!" exclaimed Tifa, "It looks like it's Cloud's."

"Look over there," said Aeris as she pointed to where they had the fire the previous night.

On the rocks, there was a white piece of paper with writing.

"Looks like a note," remarked the flower girl as she bent down to pick it up.

Tifa watched as her friend got a more and more irritated look on her face as she read the note to herself.

"What does it say?" she asked.

"It says "We'll go ahead to make sure there aren't too many monsters or Shinra agents. We'll wait for you at a certain point, just continue the path we would have taken. John""

"So they just went to scout?"

"No, not quite. It goes on," said Aeris as she got angrier and crumpled up the note, ""P.S. Make sure to tell Yuffie of our story so we're all on the same page.""

* * *

John couldn't help but chuckle as he looked behind them in the direction of the forest.

"You gotta admit this was a good idea."

"It has its ups…" said Cloud, "So how much further should we go?"

"I think around the side of that mountain would be a good place to stop," said John, pointing a bit ahead.

_Junon shouldn't be that far afterwards…_

"In the meantime…" began Cloud.

"Hm?"

"What do you think about those hooded guys?"

"I don't know," lied John, "I'm not sure what they are. Judging by what Aeris said to you, they're like zombies or something…"

_Which isn't exactly false…_

Cloud then hear a buzzing sound and looked behind him to see two Formulas rapidly flying towards them.

"Get down!" he yelled as he pushed John to the ground with him.

They felt the Formulas fly above them and got back up. John put down his staff and unsheathed his sword.

_This seems as good a time as any to try this out…_

Cloud extended his hand and launched a Bolt spell, but it missed as they flew in separate directions.

"Cloud, get one of them away from me, I have an idea," said John.

Cloud nodded as he grabbed his sword and ran after one of the Formulas, firing another lightning bolt as he did. With only one foe, John faced it directly and launched an Ice spell, trying to get its attention. The Formula dodged the attack, but John had accomplished his goal when he saw it flying in his direction.

_Okay now, gotta time this right…_

John waited until the Formula was near him and fell to the ground on his back, raising his sword upwards. Unable to change its altitude as quickly as it needed to, the Formula suffered a fatal slash along its underside and fell to the ground to meet its fate. Cloud in the meantime had used a similar strategy, instead of falling to the ground, he had moved to the ground and had driven his sword deep into the creature's side as it passed by.

"That wasn't too hard," he said as John walked over to him, "Looks like my lessons are having an effect."

* * *

Rubbing his eyes, Reno looked outside to see the press in large numbers as Tseng drove them up to the plane.

_Wow, they really came out in full swing…_

"How long until Rufus exits the plane?" asked Rude.

"About three minutes after we arrive," said Tseng.

"I assume he's going to want to talk to the press," said Reno as he leaned back.

"Yeah, he won't take too long though."

The car slowly stopped a safe, but near distance from the plane and the Turks exited and walked towards their destination, appearing unconcerned about the cameras. That was not entirely the case though, as Reno was using all of his concentration to walk in a straight line.

_Man, why couldn't I have stayed in the car? Those pills better take effect soon…_

In what seemed too long for him, they reached the plane and stood at the bottom. After the amount of time which was specified by Tseng, Rufus Shinra came out of the plane and walked down the stairs after giving a little wave to the media. Once reaching the bottom, he shook hands with all of the Turks before walking up to a small podium with microphones.

"Mr. Shinra, how was your flight?" was the first question.

"It was quite pleasant, thank you for asking."

"What brings you to Junon?"

"I believe that there was statement put out on this, but in any case, I will be taking a trip across the sea on one of our own ships."

"But why are you making it such a public event?" asked another reporter.

"That is a very good question which I am happy to answer," replied Rufus as he smiled, "In light of recent events which have resulted in my becoming president, I think it is very important for the public to know that the new leader of Shinra Inc. is a very capable man. That the company is in safe hands. It is also to show that Shinra Inc. has no intention of slowing down despite tragedies."

Rufus let out a sigh internally as that had been the question he had hoped would be asked. The remaining ones were rather mundane, asking about possible staff changes, allocation of funds and plans for Midgar.

"We are currently investigating the damage to Sector Seven and will decide the future steps afterwards. I am pleased to say that we have power running the city of Sector Seven."

"There are no current plans to add or remove anyone from our board. All of our executives have gone out of their way in recent days to make sure that the company is operating as it should."

"I have not yet completely decided how our funds are to be allocated. We have flexibility with them and I know that my father had several plans for our company. However, as with every father and son, there were some disagreements. I have always believed that Shinra should concentrate more heavily on our military and defense. Now, I have the power to make sure that that becomes a reality."

Rufus looked over at Tseng, who nodded, meaning that it was time to wrap things up.

"Thank you for your time," said Rufus to the press, "If there are any unexpected developments, we shall release a statement."

With that, Rufus got off the podium and walked to the car with the Turks, giving another wave to the media before he stepped inside.

"Well, that was a success," said Tseng once they were inside and the doors were locked.

He started the car and started to drive in the direction of the hotel. Elena sat in the front passenger seat with Rufus sitting in the back between Reno and Rude.

"So how are things back at headquarters?" asked Tseng.

"I've left Scarlet in charge," said Rufus.

"I assume she was happy about that."

"Yes, I suppose she was. Hojo's gone as well."

"Where to?"

"Costa del Sol."

"Isn't that where your ship is heading though?" asked Elena.

"Yes, but I have no intention of meeting him."

After a pause, Rufus spoke again.

"So how have the four of you been since you arrived here?"

"It's been quite boring," said Tseng, "Unless you're Reno that is…"

Reno moaned and clutched his head in response to that.

"Thanks Tseng, embarrass me in front of the boss…"

"Don't worry about it Reno," said Rufus with a chuckle, "Someone should be having some fun when the opportunity comes…"

Reno looked at Rufus with a peculiar look.

_Wow…didn't expect him to say that…_

"Thanks…"

"Anyway," spoke Rude for the first time since they had gotten in the car, "What about Reeve's spying strategy and that remote controlled thing?"

"I'll show you once we get to the hotel," replied Rufus.

"Did you mean what you said about the military spending?" asked Reno.

"Yes, for all we know, we could end up fighting a war on more than one front, so we'll need all the firepower we can get," answered Rufus as he looked out of the car in the direction of the Sister Ray and smiled.

* * *

"There, this spot seems good enough," said John as he stopped, "We should wait for them here."

"Last time I checked, I was the leader," said Cloud sarcastically.

"You have any objections?" asked John in the same tone.

"No, I suppose I don't."

Cloud took off his bag and put it down before continuing.

"John…I have a question…and I hope you can answer it."

"Okay…" said John as he did the same, not sure where Cloud was heading.

"If we encounter Sephiroth at Junon and you find out about those voices…what will you do then?"

John looked at Cloud for a few seconds before smiling.

"Are you worried that I'll leave?"

"If that is what you will do, I would simply like to know in advance," said Cloud after a slight pause.

"Well then, you don't have to worry. I'll probably remain with you guys until the end of this journey."

"But we don't know when it will end. Also, I don't want you to engage in something in which you have nothing to gain from."

_But I have an idea of when it might end… _though John in the back of his mind before continuing to speak.

"I never said I didn't have anything else to gain from this. I told Barret there were two main reasons."

"You mean that "feeling" of yours?"

"Yes, a "feeling"…"

"And this is enough for you to continue? What if what you're expecting doesn't occur?"

John had to resist laughing at Cloud's question.

_If only that were possible. No, it will occur, and you'll have a front row seat…_

"Yes, it is enough," he replied simply before continuing, "Besides, it's safer for me to remain with you. After our bust-out of Aeris, it's only a matter of time until Rufus comes after me."

"Yes, I have no doubt about that…" said Cloud, remembering what he had seen on the roof of Shinra Headquarters.

John was about ask Cloud whether he trusted him when he suddenly froze.

_Oh no…_

Cloud noticed John's change and took a few steps closer.

"John? What's wrong?"

John took his hands and slowly brought them to his ears.

_Not again…_

John had though that he would have been able to handle it the next time it happened, but the voices were much louder this time. He felt pressure rising in his head, as if it was going to split open.

"Aaahhh!" he yelled as he kneeled on the ground and clutched his head tighter, "Shut up!"

"John! John, come on, talk to me!" Exclaimed Cloud as he knelt down as well, not knowing what to do.

John continued to moan as is fingernails started to dig into his scalp and sweat started to pour down his forehead. He breathed heavily, but slowly started to calm down as his hands relaxed and he leaned forward to fall on the ground, panting.

_That was…so powerful... It wasn't like this the other times…_

"J-John?"

He didn't answer just then, continuing to regain his breath. After about a minute though, he slowly started to get up and spoke as he did.

"Just trust me Cloud."

"What?"

"Just trust me!" exclaimed John as he got on his feet, "I'm not sure I'll be able to deal with this stuff without you guys."

"What do you mean?"

"Just now, it was so…I thought my head was going to break open…I'm not sure what's going to happen next time. Please, trust me. I am not on this journey to do bad to you."

Cloud could only slowly not in response, still feeling a nagging thought that there was something else to all this.

_He's right…I'm not sure what's going on with him, but I can't let Sephoroth or Rufus get to him…_

* * *

"That's it? A cat on a mog?" asked Reno, dumbfounded as he looked at the picture Rufus gave to them.

"He does have a point Rufus," said Tseng, "I was expecting something a bit more humanoid, like an android or something."

"Well, with my father's budget, I don't think that there was near enough money given to produce a full working android," said Rufus as he sat down in a chair, "Besides, this will get the job done. I have faith in Reeve."

"Umm…" started Elena before quieting herself, deciding it wasn't her place.

"Hm?" asked Rufus as he looked over at her, "Elena, if you have something you would like to add, please feel free to do so."

Elena smiled lightly before speaking.

"It might be efficient, but isn't it's appearance somewhat…eccentric for him to join those guys?"

"True, but with their team, I suppose some sort of eccentricity is welcome," replied Rufus with humor.

"Hmm…a person with memory problems, gun-arm, Ancient, big red cat, yeah, you got a point Rufus," chuckled Reno as he counted them off on his fingers.

"So then, with that settled…what would you like to do while you're here Rufus?" asked Tseng.

Rufus smiled as he spoke.

"Actually, I would like to take a look at the Sister Ray."

"The Sister Ray? That hasn't been used since the war," said Tseng, "It was quite a valuable asset in Wutai, but after that it just dumped here because they couldn't think of a better place to put it. They barely do maintenance on it anymore."

"Then this might be a good time to bring it back to working order," said Rufus, "We also had Sephiroth during the war, but now with him against us, that cannon could prove very useful."

"All right then, as you say," said Tseng, "Rude and Elena can take you there tonight, so there's not much commotion."

Rufus only nodded in gratitude.

* * *

"There they are!" exclaimed Aeris as she pointed to the figures of Cloud and John before running ahead of the rest of the group.

"Well then, did you have a nice morning?" asked Cloud.

"That wasn't funny Cloud, that REALLY wasn't funny," said Aeris, "That girl did not stop asking questions."

"Couldn't you have gotten Barret to scare her or something?"

"Barret and Red were walking ahead and left me and Tifa with her. With Tifa's leg, it took us longer to get here, which meant more time with her," she whispered aggressively before noticing John, who looked like he had had a fright, "Hey, you okay?"

"Hm? Oh yeah," he replied with a smile.

John then got up to wave to the others, who were approaching.

"How's the leg?" he asked Tifa, who was walking on her own.

"Much better," she said with a smile, "I'll probably be able to fight again once we get to Junon."

"What have you guys been up to?" asked Yuffie.

"Uhh…" started Cloud, not knowing what to say.

"Ohhh, I get it," smirked the ninja as she looked at Tifa and Aeris, "Never mind then…"

"Look," said Cloud, "We should really be on our way. If we're lucky, we should reach Junon tomorrow…I think."

* * *

Late in the night, a car drove up to the entrance to the controls of the Sister Ray and three figures stepped out. Rude used a code he had gotten from Tseng to open the door and peeked inside.

"All right, I think it's safe. Go in."

Rufus and Elena complied and the door was shut once they got inside.

"Looks like Tseng wasn't kidding about this place," said Rufus as he saw the cobwebs around him, "No one's been here for a while."

"There's not much reason to pay attention to this place," said Rude, "A sea attack was never expected, especially when the only thing across Junon is a resort town."

"Yes…let's go to the main control room," said Rufus.

"Tseng said it was this way," said Rude as he took lead.

"Rude…the cannon works on Mako energy, correct?" asked Rufus.

"Yes," was the answer, "During the war Shinra had to reduce power to the citizens of Midgar at times to package the Mako produced in the reactors to deliver it to Wutai. That's actually one of the other reasons why it was moved here afterwards."

"You mean the reactor under the city…" said Rufus as they entered the main control room, "Don't switch on the lights, I don't want anyone to know that there's someone here."

"Yes," continued Rude, "If the cannon was ever needed, it could be hooked to the Mako reactor here and fire with a relatively shorter time needed to recharge it because it wouldn't be done manually."

"How long do you think it would take for it to be up and running again?"

"It depends. They'll need to run maintenance on the cannon, then on the reactor and then once again after making the necessary connections down there. That is, if you want it working efficiently. You can always tell them to do the whole thing without the maintenance and it could be done in a few hours. But then there could be an energy overload and the cannon could explode, taking most of the city with it."

"That's all right," chuckled Rufus, "There'll be time to do it properly."

"So you're serious about starting this up again?" asked Elena.

"Yes, we'll keep it here for a while and if needed, we can move it to another reactor."

"Should I call the team tomorrow?" asked Rude.

"That would be excellent."

After he had finished walking around the control room, Rufus decided that they should go and the three of them left as discretely as they had arrived. As they were driving back to the hotel, Rufus saw that ship which would take him to the western continent.

* * *

Rufus wasn't the only one who was taking a close notice of the ship. At the edge of the docks, a lone man stood as he watched the Shinra workers load the cargo on.

_Excellent, this ship will be perfect for me and Mother…_


	29. Chapter XXIX

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Once again, thank you to all the readers and a special thanks to all the reviewers.

I know it's been a while, but I hope you like this. Things will get more interesting in the next chapter.

**

* * *

Testing Fate**

Chapter XXIX

"Finally!" exhaled Yuffie as they approached the entrance to Junon.

"Man, what happened to this town?" asked Cloud as they got closer, "It looks so…run down…"

"It's the Shinra," explained Barret with disgust in his voice, "This was a quiet fishing village until the war. Shinra needed a port in order to store and construct the ships which would go off to Wutai, but they didn't stop there. They built a whole city! Now, most of the fish near here are dying all the time from the pollution and the people who couldn't find jobs in the new city are either unemployed or have left altogether."

After a moment of silence as the group took in the information, Aeris pointed upwards to the massive cannon and spoke.

"What's that?"

"Oh that," answered Barret without even looking over, "That's the Sister Ray. It was designed by Scarlet during the war. It's a Mako cannon."

"A Mako cannon?" asked Tifa.

"Yeah, it doesn't use shells. Instead, Mako energy is concentrated and fired upon the target."

"Where do they get the Mako from?" asked John, "Is there a reactor around here?"

"There's a reactor under the city," said Barret, "But during the war, they transported Mako from Midgar to Wutai. I'm not even sure if that thing's still operational. If they'd run tests, I would have heard."

"Barret, have you been to this town before?" asked Red.

"I was here over a decade ago, before they started building the city."

"…must have been really nice," said Aeris.

"Yeah, it was…"

"All right then," said Cloud, "What should we do now?"

"Let's go down to the beach," suggested Tifa.

_Already?! _thought John, _Couldn't we have rested even a bit before that?_

"John, you coming?" asked Aeris as they started to walk in the direction of the beach.

After a mental sigh, John followed.

* * *

In an alley in Upper Junon, an alien figure lay in the shadows with someone who looked like a human, despite being so much more.

"Mother, I found us a boat. It's the one which Rufus Shinra will be taking tomorrow. We'll sneak onboard before they set off."

"Why can't you just fly us across to the other continent?" asked the creature, "I can't stand having to hide here like this."

"Your body is still reaching its full potential, there's no hurry. Patience will reward us in time…"

"The ones who are following us will probably take that boat as well."

This made Sephiroth smile in response.

"I'm counting on it."

* * *

As AVALANCHE walked down onto the beach, they saw a young girl in the shallow waters with a dolphin as John had expected.

_Oh great…_

As they walked towards her, Red noticed that John was walking rather uneasily and seemed to be staring off into the distance. Red tried to follow his line of vision, but all he saw was the water.

_Where is he looking?_

As the young girl named Priscilla started to accuse the group of being with Shinra and telling them to leave, John's trance did not seem to break, concerning Red even more. He then noticed John's grip on his staff tighten.

"Look at that!" came Tifa's alarmed voice.

_What?! _thought Red as he quickly turned around before his eyes widened.

Just as he had turned, a massive creature came out of the water and knocked the girl into it.

_Where did that come from?! Wait, did John know that-_

"Let's go everyone!" came Cloud's command as they threw their backpacks to the side and got out their weapons.

Red decided that there would be time to muse on what he had seen later and started to rush at the creature as Yuffie threw her weapon at hit to get him away from the girl while Tifa and Aeris dragged her out of the water and onto the land. Yuffie's attack did not have much of an effect and her weapon fell near her. As the creature tried to decide on its next move, it was hit by ice shards from Tifa and bullets from Barret, which sent it into the waters and before it could rise again, the newly re-energized Tifa jumped on it and dealt a hard slash from her Mythril claw. However, before she could strike again, Bottomswell rose and threw her off onto the ground.

"Be careful, don't overexert yourself yet," said Cloud as he helped her up.

Once again, before the creature could attack, it was shot down, this time, by a lightning bolt from Aeris.

"Did we get it?" asked Barret.

His answer came quickly enough as a beam shot out from the sea as the creature rose again. Barret found a bubble growing around him which left him with less and less air. He tried to hit it from the inside while Cloud tried to slash it with the sword, but none of the attacks made an effect.

"We've got to get him out!" yelled Tifa as a kick failed like the other attacks.

"Physical attacks don't seem to be working," said Cloud.

"What about magic?" asked John as he launched an ice particle at the creature to keep it at bay.

"Good idea," said Aeris as she extended her staff and started to charge lightning spell.

The result was successful as the bubble was broken by the attack and Barret fell to the ground breathing deeply.

"Thanks guys…"

"Ok, we've got to watch out for that one," said Cloud before he dashed towards Bottomswell.

Aeris launched a Matra Magic attack to distract him and while Bottomswell was dodging the blasts cloud jumped and tried to slash him, but ended up missing as the creature flew out of his way. Before Cloud could regroup once he landed on ground, he was hit hard by Bottomswell's tail and fell into the water. Before he could be attacked again, Barret fired more of his bullets at the creature to keep it away as the team came over to Cloud. As Barret finished, Red leapt upward and delivered a hard slash to the creature's right eye, blinding it there. As he landed, the creature started to sway violently before he sung his tail harshly to the ground, sending a big wave up at the team which quickly engulfed them. As the waters fell back, the team slowly got up choking.

"Ugh…everyone alright?" asked John.

"…what was that?!" exclaimed Yuffie as she got her weapon out of the water.

"We have to make sure that it can't do THAT again…" said Red.

Amidst all of this, Aeris got up and holding her staff in both hands, raised it above her and started to concentrate.

"Aeris?" asked Cloud as he saw her.

"Just wait a second Cloud…and get ready…"

There was a flash of light around her and then she pointed her staff towards Cloud and lowered it. As she did this, Cloud saw a red light below him and felt a surge of strength. After locking eyes with her, he picked up his sword and held it in both of his hands as Bottomswell was trying to move around with half of its vision gone.

"All right, let's try this again…"

With that, he rushed towards the creature, jumped and plunged the sword deep into Bottomswell before kicking off of it and bringing his sword upwards, causing mass amounts of blood to fall from the threat. As Cloud landed in the water, so did Bottomswell, but unlike the leader of AVALANCHE, he did not rise again, his life fading as the thrashes became quieter and quieter. With the threat gone, Cloud walked back towards his teammates and towards one especially.

"Thanks for that," he said to Aeris, who smiled in return.

"My pleasure…"

"What was that?" asked Yuffie, "What did she do?"

"I don't know how to explain it, it was like a really big power boost…" said Cloud.

"The power of the Ancients…" said John as he looked over at Aeris along with everyone else.

Aeris felt uncomfortable with the attention and was hoping for some type of distraction when the voice of an old man was heard.

"Priscilla! Please help, she's not breathing!"

As the team ran back and Cloud performed CRP, Red couldn't help but ponder on what had happened.

_John…did he know that we would be attacked by that creature? It's like that time at the ranch…what does it mean? And Aeris…how deep do her powers go? Is she even aware of what she is capable of?_

_

* * *

_

That evening, the team had been offered a house to stay in and while they were getting ready to go to bed, Aeris went outside for some air. A few minutes later, she was joined by Red.

"Hey there," he said casually as he laid down next to where she was sitting.

"Hey…"

He waited for a few seconds before speaking again.

"That was really something that you did today…and it wasn't the first time either…"

She knew that he was referring to what she had done outside Fort Condor.

"Yeah…"

"It's not easy for you, is it? This power I mean…" he said after another moment of silence.

No," she said as she shook her head, "I'm not sure exactly what I'm capable of…that time at Fort condor was such a surprise. So was today…"

"We're here if you need us…"

"I know that, you've all made it known and thank you," she said, "But it's different. I'm different. John's not an Ancient, neither is Cloud or anyone else, there's only so much anyone besides myself can understand…and even I don't understand that much…"

Red didn't know how to answer to that. He had been on the planet for more than twice as long than the woman next to him, and yet a part of her seemed to be on a much higher plateau, one that neither he nor anyone else could step on and it seemed very daunting to him at that moment.

"Look at me, I'm rambling," said Aeris before she yawned, "Let's go back. We'll need our sleep for tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're right," said Red as he got up.

* * *

The next morning came quickly and John and Cloud found themselves standing outside the house that they had slept in as Tifa walked past them to go inside to get something that she had forgot.

"Hey John, go on ahead to Priscilla's house. I'll be there in a minute ok?" asked Cloud

"Yeah sure," said John as he walked off, knowing what Cloud and Tifa were talking about inside.

_Poor Cloud…and poor Tifa…they're so confused by each other…_

As John walked to the house where the others were standing, he heard loud music start in the city above.

_And so it begins…_

"What's with the music?" asked Barret.

"I don't know, maybe it's a holiday up there or something…" said John.

About a minute later, Cloud and Tifa came to join them just as Priscilla was coming down the stairs. John noticed that both Cloud and Tifa seemed rather uneasy from their conversation.

"Hey…thanks for helping," said Priscilla as she stopped, "I'm sorry I mistook you guys for the Shinra."

"Don't worry about it," said Cloud.

"I'll give you guys something SPECIAL!" she said as she took something out of her pocket and handed it to Cloud, "It's an amulet. Take good care of it, okay?"

Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE knew that it was a summon material, but he smiled as he pocketed it and changed the subject.

"Thank you. Priscilla, do you know what that music is for?"

"I heard that they're rehearsing the reception for the Shinra Presidents.

"Rufus?!" exclaimed Barret as he patted his gun-arm, "I gotta pay my respects."

"Hmm…does that mean that Rufus is thinking of crossing the ocean from here too?" asked Aeris.

"What?! Wait, would that mean that Sephiroth has already crossed?"

"I have no clue," said Cloud, "We've got to get someone on the inside into the city before the reception begins."

"There's a tower over there," said Yuffie as she pointed out to the beach, "Maybe we could climb that."

"But there's a high voltage current running underneath the tower!" exclaimed Priscilla, "Although you might be able to do it if Mr. Dolphin helps you…"

"High voltage tower…sounds like Cloud's the man for the job," said Tifa.

"Yeah, better leave it to Cloud…" followed up Aeris as she chuckled.

"Hey!! Wait a second…" started Cloud, but found himself unable to continue.

_Me?! Why me?!_

He looked at John for some support, but received only a pat on the back in response.

"We're all counting on you. We'll try to sneak up to the city another way and meet up with you somewhere."

"I'll hold your cellphone so it doesn't get wet," said Barret.

After Priscilla explained how to use a whistle to call the dolphin, Cloud found himself swimming out close to the tower.

_Honestly, how did this happen to me?!__ Why doesn't one of them try this? _He thought to himself, annoyed at his current situation.

Once he found a spot which seemed suitable, he sighed before he took out the whistle and blew into it.

* * *

"Rufus, are you sure that you don't want any of us to go with you?" asked Tseng as Rufus looked himself over in the mirror.

"Yes, I'm sure Tseng. Don't worry. I won't really do anything once I arrive, I'll probably head to the family house in the mountains. I arranged for a car to be prepared for me."

_A bit of rest wouldn'__t be too bad…_

"What if Cloud or Sephiroth show up?" asked Rude, "there have been reports of a few soldiers being killed by a man in a black cape."

"If I was directly his target, then he would have likely attacked us by now," explained Rufus as he slicked his hair a bit more, "If he's here, then it would make sense for me to get away from Junon, and that's what I'm doing, aren't I?"

"What if he's on the boat as well?" asked Reno as he tried to not show any worry.

_We can't afford to lose another president. This guy's actually good to us and if he goes__, then that means that there is no direct successor…_

"Rufus, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, Reno?"

"Now that you're in charge, who's going to be the Vice President of the company?"

Reno was surprised to receive a chuckle in response.

"Really Reno, are you that pessimistic? Come on, let's hope for the best," replied Rufus as he finished and started walking towards the door before turning back and addressing Reno again.

"That was the answer to your first question as well."

* * *

"All right," said Tifa as she watched Cloud's form disappear, "If there's trouble there, he'll find a way to tell us. In the meantime, we have to get up to the city as well."

"I think we should try to get on that boat which is heading out. If Sephiroth hasn't already left, he's bound to sneak onboard that one," said John, trying to get things moving without being too suspicious.

"You mean to say that our goal is to end up on the same boat as Rufus and Sephiroth?" asked Red.

"Yup, unfortunately…"

"There's an elevator over there," said Aeris as she pointed back in the direction of the village," But there's a guard near there…"

"Well then, we'll just have to get past him," explained Barret.

"We can't endanger people's lives Barret…" said Tifa as she tried to think of an alternative plan.

"Why don't we just knock him out?" asked Yuffie.

"…that could work," said Red after a small silence.

"All right then, we have a plan," said John, "Yuffie, run over there and try to distract the guard and we'll take care of him when his back is turned."

"Why do I have to be the one to talk to him?"

"Because it was your idea."

"Sheesh, fine…" mumbled Yuffie as she ran in the direction of the elevator.

As they watched her approach the guard, Aeris leaned into John's ear and whispered.

"At least this time I'm not getting molested," she commented with a giggle.

John looked over at her and chuckled lightly in response.

_Can't believe they're doing this, giving dirty work to the new girl. I'd like to hit this guy over the head… _thought Yuffie as she walked up to the guard and stood in front of him.

The guard looked at her for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Yes?"

"Ummm…could you please help me? I lost something."

"Hmm…where did you lose this "something"?"

"Over here," she said as she walked away from the elevator and into a corner, the guard following her.

"Can you look around sir? It's shiny," said Yuffie as she leaned down and tried to pretend that she was trying to find something.

The guard leaned over as well, which gave Tifa the opening that she had been waiting for as she dealt a quick kick to the back of the guard's head, sending him to the ground.

"Alright, good job Yuffie. Let's hurry before he gets up," she said quickly before they ran to the elevator and entered.

As they were going up, Barret spoke up.

"Ok, so what are we going to do up there? Should all of us try to catch a ship or wait until Cloud appears somewhere?"

"Hmm…maybe six people are too big a group," said Tifa, "We should split up and gradually make our way to the harbor. Barret, you can come with me and Yuffie. There's a parade soon and we can try to find the boat which is going to leave."

She then turned to John, Aeris and Red before finishing.

"We'll call you guys when we have something, lay low until then. See if you can buy new materia that could be useful."

* * *

"Here we are," said Tseng as they parked in the streets of Junon surrounded by security, "and look who else is here…"

"Oh great," sighed Rufus as he looked out and saw Heidegger, "I swear, it would have been better if I had done this by myself."

"It looks better if you have someone by your side on your journey," said Rude.

_I'm dumping this guy the second we get to Costa del Sol… _thought Rufus as he stepped outside and put on a smile.

"Hello Heidegger. How was your flight?" he asked as he shook his hand.

"It was fine Rufus. How have you been here?"

"I've been alright. Tseng and the others have been keeping me company."

Heidegger looked over to see the Turks walk up to him.

"Heidegger," said the leader.

"Tseng, Rufus, Reno, Elena."

"We trust you to see that the President makes it safely to Costa del Sol."

"You can trust me Tseng."

"Let's hope so," stated Tseng before the Turks said their goodbyes to Rufus and started to walk back to the car.

"Seriously, why do you have to come on the boat with me? Can't you take the airship?" asked Rufus.

"I'm sure Tseng already told you that this is the best thing for your public image," said Heidegger smugly, "Besides, the airship is still being prepared, it won't be ready for another three days at least,"

_Oh great… _moaned Rufus mentally.

"What about the Air Force's Gelnika?"

"Yes…gya ha ha!" laughed Heidegger.

"Stop that horse laugh Heidegger!" ordered Rufus, "Things are different now than when my father was in charge, remember that…"

Heidegger lightly cringed as he did what he was told to do.

"Let's go up to a spot where we can see the parade better," said Heidegger.

"All right."

"Rufus, where are you planning on going after we arrive at Costa del Sol?"

"I think I'll head to the family home in the mountains for a few days and I'll see after that. I have a few plans…"

* * *

Once Tifa, Barret and Yuffie had started to go deeper into Junon, John, Aeris and Red were left to watch the parade.

"…astounding," observed Red, "All of this for just one man…"

"And he hasn't even done anything yet…" said Aeris.

"Well…that's going to change very soon…" mentioned John.

Aeris waited for a few seconds before asking John a question.

"John…is he going to come after us?"

"What?" he asked back, confused.

"Well, you've talked to him. Was what Tseng saying true? You know…about Rufus not sending people after me?"

"He didn't seem to be concerned about The Promised Land like his father was from what I remember," said John carefully, "So I think that Tseng was telling the truth."

Aeris smiled upon hearing that and looked into the nonexistent distance.

"That's good to hear."

After pausing for a bit, she spoke again.

"Did you see it?"

"See what?" asked Red.

"The airship once we got out of the elevator. It was so big."

"Yes…it was impressive," said Red.

"What about you John?"

John had to force a smile as he looked over at Aeris, knowing what she was thinking.

"Yeah, it was really cool."

"I know right?" she laughed with glee as she looked back in the direction of the airport before looking back at John before saying the words that gave him a lump in his throat.

"We should go on it sometime."

He continued to look into her eyes which exuded not only hope in the future, but confidence as well.

"Can you imagine that? Flying over the land and sea on that, feeling the wind…what do you think?"

John tried to regain his composure as he smiled back.

"Yeah…we should."

"Really? You mean that?"

"Yup. Trust me Aeris, one day we're going to be on that ship, looking down at the world below…you can hold me on that."

"Serious?" she asked with surprise.

"Yup," he replied with a nod, "I'm going to get both of us on that ship somehow."

"All right then," she said with smile as their eyes stayed on lock, "I'll take your word for it."

"You do that…"

A few moments of silence passed by before John changed the subject.

"All right, we should go find a material shop and see if they have anything."

"Yeah, we have no idea when Tifa might call," said Aeris as they began walking.

_Aeris…I meant that. You're going to make it on that ship... I'm going to make sure that it happens…_

John wasn't the only onethinking about the conversation that had just occurred, as Red had heard it as well. However, his mind was looking at it from a very different angle.

_Promises of the future… Can you assure that? Or do you know that it will occur already John? That way, you have nothing to worry about…_

"Red?" asked John.

"Yes?" he answered, trying not to sound unusual.

"Is something on your mind? You seem to be in thought."

Red chuckled in response before speaking.

"John, I'm always in thought, much like you. It's nothing."

"I'll take your word then," chuckled John back.

They walked for a few more seconds before John stopped in front of a door.

"I think this is the place," said John as he walked into the building.

Inside they saw a door to the right and stairs leading down. Heading to the right, they found materia store.

"Do you guys see anything useful?" asked Red.

"There's Revive materia here. That should be useful," said Aeris.

"We better take another Restore as well since we have a new member. Another Heal couldn't hurt either."

At this time, the storekeeper walked up to them.

"Hello, would you like to purchase something?"

"Yes," said Aeris, "We'd like two Revive materias, one Heal and one Restore."

"All right young lady," said the owner, "That'll be 8250 gil."

John took out the bills and paid the man.

_Wow, that's a decent chunk of our bandit reward…_

As they walked towards the exit, Aeris stopped and looked at the stairs leading downwards.

"I wonder what's there?" she asked.

"Probably a bar or something…"

"Let's take a look for a second," she said as she started to walk down them.

John and Red followed behind but stopped once they saw Aeris quickly turn around and start walking quickly back.

"Aeris, what is it?" asked John as they neared the exit.

"I saw Rude in there!" she exclaimed, "I don't think he saw me, but we can't risk it."

"…but do you think that he would capture you?" asked Red.

"…I'm not sure…but I want to be safe…"

"She's right," said John, "Regardless of Rufus's orders, the further away she, and the rest of us, are from them, the better."

As soon as John finished speaking, his cell phone started to ring.

"Hello?" he asked as he picked it up.

"Already? Alright, we'll be right there," he said as he hung up.

"Was that Tifa?" asked Aeris.

"Yeah, they've knocked out some of the crew and stole their uniforms. I guess that's our ticket onto the boat," explained John.

"What about Cloud?"

"He'll find a way, don't worry."

* * *

"Are you sure that this will work?" asked Red to Tifa as she and Aeris were helping him to put on a Shinra soldier outfit.

"Yes, don't worry, you can get out of it the second we're off the boat," said Tifa.

"This is ridiculous," said Barret as he watched the scene in front of him.

"Barret, I wouldn't exactly be talking if I were you," laughed Tifa as she looked at his white outfit.

"Aw, I think he looks kinda cute," said Aeris as she laughed as well.

Barret turned around fuming and walked a bit away as John looked into the distance and saw some figures approaching.

"All right everyone, some more soldiers are coming. Let's make this thing work."

With that, the team either tried to fit in like they were on duty or hid behind boxes. Three soldiers stepped up in front of the boat and that was when John saw a door open and Rufus and Heidegger step out. He tried to hide his face as the President of Shinra walked past him by looking to the floor.

Once Rufus and Heidegger were in their place, the soldiers performed their send off and at the end the team saw a move which showed them that their leader was there. Afterwards, Heidegger gave a large sword to the one who was actually Cloud, saying it was a token of the president's kindness.

"All right, everyone on board," said Rufus as he began walking into the ship.

The team all made their way inside and as John was walking up to the entrance he looked to his side and accidentally made eye contact with Rufus. He did not know how long they held that gaze on each other, but it was far too long for his comfort. Eventually, Rufus had to head upstairs and the ship began to depart, with John giving a sigh of relief once that happened.

_That was close…did he recognize me? I better stay away from him…_

Little did he know that before the day was done, the exact opposite would occur…


	30. Chapter XXX

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

It's been longer than ever, but here's chapter #30. I kinda changed Jenova's battle appearance to look more like what she looked like in the Shinra building. I never got that new "head" she got during the battles.

**

* * *

Testing Fate**

Chapter XXX

As the Shinra Boat moved further away from Junon in the direction of Costa del Sol, John took a moment to lean against the wall for a quick breather. Rufus had gone up to the top a while back, but John still felt rather uneasy.

_I can't wait for this part to be over. Sephiroth, Jenova and Rufus are all onboard with us… This is it though! I can finally try to ask Sephiroth about these voices. He has to be behind them somehow, I just know it. I won't be able to see him by myself though and it's probably best that I don't. I'll just have to wait until-_

"John?" came a familiar, but quiet voice next to him.

John turned to see a Shinra soldier in front of him. He wasn't sure why the soldier knew his name until he looked closer and saw bits of blond hair sticking out from under the helmet.

"Cloud, you made it!" he exclaimed quietly, "We saw your show back at the dock."

"Oh that, I was lucky that I wasn't caught," replied Cloud.

"Did you find out anything about Sephiroth?"

"Yeah, apparently some guy in a black cloak showed up a few days ago and killed a few Shinra soldiers. That's probably him."

"…do you think he could be on this boat?" asked John, trying to not sound too obvious.

"That is very likely, so try not to wander into empty corners. You never know where he could be hiding."

"Alright," said John, "You should find the others and tell them that you're ok. Aeris is somewhere over there I think."

"Yeah," said Cloud as he turned to walk away before stopping.

"John."

"Yeah?"

"I mean it, don't try to find him on your own," said Cloud and even though John couldn't see his eyes, he could feel their gaze.

"I understand."

* * *

"So then, how are you getting accustomed to the power?" asked Heidegger as he and Rufus looked out to the sea from their closed area.

"It's all like I expected it," answered Rufus coldly, "People asking me if they can do this or if they can do that. It's rather mundane, for the moment at least."

"Oh, so you do have plans then," smirked the larger man.

"Maybe I do, so what. You'll learn when I decide that it is time."

"Aren't you frightened of Sephiroth?" asked Heidegger.

The response was only silence.

"No one will admit it, but we're all scared shitless due to that man gya ha ha!" laughed Heidegger.

"Shut up. If he kills us, you'll go before me," said Rufus calmly.

"Tseng and the others can only protect you so much from him and you know that."

"But then who is there to protect you Heidegger?" shot Rufus back, "Besides, I don't think that is a very nice way to talk to your boss."

"Yes…I do suppose that you are my boss now," smiled Heidegger slyly.

_What a shame…so much power for such a young and foolish kid…_

"What about that group that escaped?" asked Heidegger, changing the subject.

"Don't worry about that, there's a plan."

"You mean Reeve's little toy?"

"You don't like it?" asked Rufus with a cold sense of humor.

"It's a waste of money. It would be simpler to just let Scarlet go after them."

"Yes, that machine of hers did a fine job back in Midgar, didn't it?" Rufus's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Well…it should be a while before they get across the ocean with the other ships stopping for a few days due to the security measures for your arrival."

Rufus didn't say anything back, although he did have a nagging feeling in the back of his mind.

* * *

Once they were a certain distance away from Junon, Aeris decided to walk up to the deck and take a look at the ocean. As she approached the edge to look out, she had to restrain herself from talking off her helmet to feel the wind in her hair.

_It's so vast! I can't believe it's taken me this long to see something so astounding!__ I wonder what we'll find on the new continent, I hope there's something about the Ancients. The Planet is really uneasy; I can hear it much clearer out here without the people and the city. Something is on the horizon, something big!_

She then unwillingly let her thoughts drift to an unhappier time and subject.

_I wonder if I'll even run into Zack at some- no! No thinking about that! That's in the past and this is now. I stopped even trying to feel his life force through the planet a long time ago__. My future consists of these new friends, my first friends, and our journey…the planet will protect me, just like mother said it would all those years ago._

_

* * *

_

"Sephiroth, how much longer do we have to be here?"

"Be patient mother, it's best that we are not discovered. Not by Shinra, not by Cloud."

"I'm rather interested in seeing just how strong our pursuers are," whispered Jenova through her headless throat.

"You are not at your full strength," said Sephiroth, forgetting to control his voice.

"I'm well enough to fight; it's been ages since I last stretched my muscles in that way."

Before Sephiroth could talk back, the door opened and two Shinra soldiers entered.

"Are you sure there was a noise here?" asked one.

"Yes, someone was talking, it was a male voice I'm sure," replied the other, "Hey come out, we know you're here. If you turn yourself in, it'll only be better for you in the end."

"Looks like we won't be able to reach the other continent so smoothly after all…" snickered Jenova.

Sephiroth silently sighed before he stepped out into the view of the two soldiers, Masamune in hand.

"Imp-" the first one didn't even get to finish the last word before his head was sliced clean off of his shoulders.

The second one was luckier as he just managed to hit the emergency alarm button before the same fate befell him.

* * *

"What the-" exclaimed Rufus in surprise as the alarm went off.

"Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!" came the booming voice over the intercom.

"Damn! What's wrong with the security on this ship?!" exclaimed Heidegger as he ran over to the exit of the room only to be stopped by the guard soldier.

"Please remain here Mr. Heidegger so we can guarantee your safety."

"My safety?! You were supposed to guarantee that when you saw who came onboard and who didn't."

"Heidegger sit down," said Rufus calmly, "There's nothing we can do about that now so let the soldiers do their job."

* * *

Once all of the Shinra soldiers had moved to the inside of the ship to try to find the mystery assailant, the members of AVALANCHE quietly gathered at the middle of the deck.

"Everyone alright?" asked Tifa as they removed the Shinra uniforms.

"Seems so," said Aeris before she noticed something, "Wait, if everyone's here…"

"Then could the mysterious character be Sephiroth?" asked Barret.

"That's definitely possible if what Cloud said was true," said Red.

"Let's find out then," said Cloud, "Be ready for battle."

John felt the hairs on his neck stand up when he thought of what awaited them below.

_That thing…Jenova! I had enough of her back at the Shinra building…_

Aeris took off her Mythril Armlet and put on the Four Slots one that John had received back at the Shinra building. She moved the Fire and Enemy Skill materias over to the new one and put in one of the Revive materias which she and John had purchased along with the Shiva materia which Cloud had received from Priscilla. Cloud switched the Hardedge for the Force Stealer which he had received from Rufus and moved the Earth materia as well. Tifa put the new Restore materia into her Mythril Claw and combined it with an All materia she had found on the ship. John put the new Heal materia in his Mythril Armlet.

"Alright, ready?" asked Cloud as he received nods from everyone, "Let's go."

* * *

A few minutes after Cloud and the others had gone downstairs, Rufus stood up in the room where he and Heidegger were.

"I'm going to go take a look."

"Are you insane?" asked Heidegger with a bewildered look, "You could get killed."

"The soldiers aren't coming back. If it stays like that, we might die anyway. I'd rather see some action before I kick it," said Rufus simply.

"Sir, I must advise you-" began the guard.

"Don't," said Rufus as he walked towards the door and motioned for the guard to move, "This is an order. An order from the President."

Not having a say in the matter, the guard quietly stepped aside.

_AVALANCHE… Sephiroth… let's just see what is really going on here… _thought Rufus to himself as he headed for the stairs leading down.

* * *

A bit before Rufus left his safety, AVALANCHE entered the door at the bottom of the stairs and saw a lone Shinra officer standing at the in front of the panel. They slowly approached him with Cloud leading the way.

"Is it…Sephiroth?" he asked.

The soldier slowly turned around and gave them a dead stare before slumping to the floor, revealing a tiny hole in his back.

_That looks like it was done by the Masamune… _thought Cloud.

Then to everyone's surprise, even John's (who had expected him to rise from the floor), a figure jumped from above and landed in front of them. Even before he slowly raised his head, it was well known to all of them who he was.

_It's him, he is alive! _thought Cloud to himself as his worst fear had been realized.

Sephiroth slowly scanned the group with his eyes, taking delight in finally seeing some of them up close for the first time. He stopped on Aeris for a bit longer than on the others and smiled lightly.

_So…she did survive…_

_Something's not right here… _thought Aeris, _He's an Ancient? No, there's something else here…_

Afterwards he moved his eyes over to John who felt burned by the jade gaze.

_No time to hold back now… I gotta find out!_

"Sephiroth!" he spoke up as he took a bold step forward.

"John stay back!" yelled Cloud.

Taken aback, John froze in his tracks, Sephiroth's eyes still on him.

"Sephiroth! What are you thinking? What are you doing?!" asked Cloud, still reeling from the shock of seeing him.

It was then that Sephiroth's eyes finally went over to Cloud and locked in a gaze that seemed to shake Cloud to his core. His smile then widened.

_They're a__ll yours Mother! Make sure that they're still able to get off the ship._

"It's time."

With that Sephiroth quickly levitated himself slightly and dashed at the team, his sheer energy sending them off their feet and onto the floor as he flew out of the room and off the ship.

"What the-!" exclaimed Cloud as they quickly got back up to see a large figure emerge from the shadows.

"Th-This is…" began Tifa.

"Jenova…" finished Red.

Jenova had not changed much since John had seen her last and still looked every bit as revolting. The wounds on its lower half seemed to have healed. Seeing her this close for the first time, John remarked to himself that she was nowhere near as tall as he had expected her to be. Make no mistake, she was far taller than all of them, but on the television screen, she seemed to be simply gargantuan. Here, she was barely twice as tall he was.

_That doesn't make her any less dangerous… _he reminded himself.

"So… we finally meet…" came the alien voice from the creature

"It can talk?!" exclaimed Barret in shock, "But she has no head!"

"I am far above anything you can imagine as you will soon find out."

Aeris felt extremely uneasy. Despite the lack of a head and all that came with it, she could feel that Jenova could see them and in particular _her_.

_What is she?! This…this is abnormal!_

"I can feel your fear. Wasn't this what you wanted, to find us? To find me?"

As she continued to speak, John could see an appendage moving behind her coming to aim directly at them.

"I know that some of you would have preferred to deal with Sephiroth directly, but you won't be bored with me. I promise…"

"Look out! She's gonna fire!!!" yelled John.

The team quickly scrambled as Jenova launched her Tail Laser attack. Yuffie jumped as she dodged the beam and threw her shrunken in Jenova's direction, but it turned out that the creature was surprisingly fast despite her size. She easily avoided the projectile and launched a W-Laser attack at the airborne ninja. Unable to move in midair, Yuffie was hit by the two beams and the resultant explosion sent her crashing into the wall.

"Yuffie!" exclaimed Tifa as she rushed towards Jenova and deliver a swift kick to its side.

She tried to get a second one in, but the creature's speed aided her again as she avoided Tifa's attack and moved behind her as she landed.

"You won't take me down that easily," said Jenova as she cast a Stop spell on Tifa, holding her in place, and started to charge a laser attack, "Now then, as for you…"

She was stopped by Cloud however, who launched a Bolt spell and broke Jenova's concentration. His attack was followed up by Red, who launched a fireball and chased after it with a Sled Fang attack. Jenova managed to dodge the spell, but she couldn't be quick enough afterwards to avoid Red's teeth slicing through her leg. She rebounded quickly though and launched a Laser attack at Red, which cut through the flesh on his back and sent him staggering off to the side.

"Red, stay still," said John as he cast a Cure spell on him, slowly healing the wound while Aeris did the same for Yuffie.

Barret stepped up next and launched a hail of bullets at her. Jenova winced as the projectile embedded themselves in her flesh, but her cells quickly went to work in pushing the intrusions out as she launched another Laser attack which cut deep into Barret's arm with the gun and made him kneel from the weight.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed as he clutched his arm.

Aeris ran to him and cast a Cure spell, but that had left her open to a W-Laser attack, which sent her sliding across the floor.

"Aeris!" called out Cloud as he and John tried to run towards her, but were sent off track as they tried to dodge her Tail Laser attack.

_Ah this girl…she must be the one from back then…__ Yes, I can feel it! Just like the ones I killed all those years ago…a Cetra!_

At this time, Rufus had silently crept downstairs and peered into the room to see Aeris slowly trying to get herself up as Jenova approached, slightly staggering from the damage done by Barret's bullets.

_Dear God! That's…Jenova! Why isn't anyone helping that girl?!_

Aeris felt pain in her joints as she slowly turned around to face the creature, using one arm to support herself as Jenova stopped just in front of her.

_No, stay back!_

"You're frightened, I can feel it girl…" whispered Jenova.

"What are you?" asked the petrified Cetra, "Answer me!"

An evil laugh was her only response as Aeris felt like she wanted to vomit.

_You…you're not an __Ancient! You're a monster!_

Aeris then looked at the materia on her wrist and noticed the Shiva one.

_I guess now's a good as time as any to see how these work…_ she thought as she raised her arm and concentrated.

A cold breeze seemed to come out of nowhere as a maiden with blue skin materialized between Aeris and Jenova.

_Amazing…_ thought Rufus as he watched the scene unfold.

Shiva moved her arm around herself as the breeze gathered at certain points in front of her and formed icicles. Afterwards, she extended her arm outward as the icicles flew at Jenova, cutting her and sending her backwards. As Jenova regained her footing, the maiden split into blue particles which vanished after a few seconds. That didn't mean that Aeris stopped though. Before Jenova could counter, Aeris had grabbed her staff and started to fire off lightning bolts.

_Ugh…so much power! I knew this girl would cause us trouble…_

Aeris's attack was relentless as her eyes seemed to take on a wild and frantic look as she did all that she could to make sure that Jenova did not get close to her again. After a while, she did not have the mental energy to continue and slumped back down to the ground.

_Is it over? Please tell me I got her…_

Rufus seemed to be bewildered by what he had just seen.

_The power of the Ancients…a regular person of her age would have nowhere near that level of magic capability… No wonder she was wanted for so long…_

He was snapped out of his trance by the sound of Jenova slowly getting up as he wounds flowed with blood like they did back in the Shinra building. John saw that Aeris was looking uneasy again, so he unsheathed his Mythril Saber and quickly ram at Jenova, slicing her cross the thighs and making it slump once again. He tried to turn around to strike again, but she fired her Tail Laser again, holding him back. She turned to face him to get a clearer shot, but this left her back exposed to Cloud, who jumped with a Braver attack and severed her whole back appendage as Jenova howled with pain.

_They're strong…__stronger than I had assumed… It's time I make my exit._

Jenova launched a W-Laser attack at Cloud, who dodged it easily and then set off firing them at random spots around the room. In the subsequent commotion, Jenova used her magic to levitate herself and flew out of the room, not noticing Rufus who had moved out of the way just in time.

_That was kept in the Shinra building?!_

As the dust cleared, the team slowly gathered together around the appendage which Cloud had cut off. Aeris in particular seemed to be shaken from the experience.

"Aeris, you alright?" asked John, knowing more about the connection between Jenova and the Ancients than anyone in the room.

Aeris responded with a light nod, before she looked in the direction of the door.

"Yeah, I am now…"

"What was she?" asked Yuffie.

"I don't know," said Cloud, "It's been said that she's an Ancient."

"She is not an Ancient!" exclaimed Aeris loudly to everyone's surprise including Rufus's, "I don't know what that is, but it is not an Ancient!"

After a moment of silence Tifa spoke up.

"Regardless of what Jenova is, she was here…and so was Sephiroth," she said as she looked over at Cloud who nodded.

"He really is back then…"

"He said it was "time"" mentioned John, "Time for what?"

"I'm not really sure," said Cloud, who bent down to pick up a red materia that had fallen among the debris of Jenova's last attack.

"What do we do now?" asked Red.

"The only thing we can do…continue going after him. The last time, he said he was going to find the Promised Land."

"But we don't know where that is, or if it even exists," said Barret.

"There's nothing else we can do though…" said Aeris as she looked at the floor and the body part, "Whatever we're after…we've got to keep going after Sephiroth to get it."

"Aeris is right," said Cloud, "Whether he's still seeking the Promised Land or not, he's got to be stopped. The same goes for Jenova."

"We should hide somewhere until we arrive," said Red.

As the team slowly started to walk towards the door and Rufus prepared to quietly leave, John suddenly fell to the floor and started clutching his head.

"Agh! Aaahh!"

"John!" exclaimed Aeris as she ran over to him, "What's wrong?"

"Not now! Not now!" he moaned as he held harder.

_What's wrong with John? _Wondered Rufus as he watched from afar.

"Oh no! It's happening again! And at a bad time!" exclaimed Cloud.

"Again? This happened before?" asked Red.

"It's louder Cloud, it's louder!" yelled John as the pain in his head intensified.

"Someone do something before security comes!" ordered Barret to no one in particular.

"Sorry about this John," said Tifa as she ran behind him and delivered a swift blow to the back of his head, sending him into Cloud's arms.

"…looks like he's calmed down," said Cloud after a few seconds.

"Cloud, what's this all about?" asked Tifa in a serious tone, "Is something wrong with John?"

"…"

"Answer me! I know you're a fan of keeping things to yourself, but this isn't one of them!" shouted Tifa angrily.

"…I'll tell you once we're on land. We've got to let him rest," said Cloud.

"Let's go hide somewhere, the guards will probably be here soon," said Yuffie.

_That's probably my cue to leave, _thought Rufus to himself as he silently slipped up the stairs.

* * *

Outside Costa del Sol, Sephiroth quietly stood on the beach, admiring the waves and feeling the breeze as well as he could.

_I swear, it would be nice to do this with my real body…_

He was removed from his comfort slightly by the arrival on Jenova, who was still recovering from the fight.

"I knew it would have been better to simply flee with me. Are you all right?" he asked her.

"I'll be fine. They're stronger than I had anticipated. Especially that girl…"

"You mean Aeris?" asked Sephiroth with a chuckle.

"I don't care what her name is! She's going to be a real problem for us," said an irritated Jenova.

"She is something else isn't she? A true example of the superiority of the Ancients, even if she doesn't know it yet…"

"That isn't a good thing Sephiroth. Besides, I've taken down countless of her kind. She'll be no different."

Sephiroth paused for a second before responding.

"Of course, let's be on our way."

_It's a shame that I didn't see her power again firsthand. Oh well, hopefully we'll meet again soon… That man, so his name is John… I look forward to seeing him again soon as well… It seemed that he wanted to say something before Cloud interrupted him. And Cloud, how can I forget Cloud…__ Keep going your way Cloud, or should I say my way haha…_

_

* * *

_

As the boat stopped at the Costa del Sol harbor, AVALANCHE was quick to get off with Barret carrying John.

"We have to find a place to put John," said Cloud as they ran into the crowd to keep from getting spotted by Shinra.

A few minutes after AVALANCHE, Rufus and Heidegger disembarked with Rufus sporting a particularly amused face.

"So now what Rufus?" asked Heidegger.

"Apparently your soldiers let AVALANCHE, Sephiroth and that Jenova creature all sneak onboard our ship and then sneak off as well."

"I'm ashamed of myself…" said Heidegger as he looked at the ground.

"Is that all you can say?" asked Rufus, not even letting the other man answer, "Take the helicopter and go off somewhere. You can go back to Midgar even if you want."

"What?! But don't you need it to get the house in the mountains."

Rufus smirked as he took out pair of sunglasses and put them on.

"I arranged to have a car left for me outside of this town. I think I'll enjoy a nice drive, recently it seems that I'm my own best company."

Heidegger knew that arguing would be pointless, so he bid his boss goodbye and grumbled off towards the plane. Once he was gone, Rufus smiled and went down the same path that AVALANCHE had just a short time ago.

_Although there is one person I would most enjoy talking to…_

_

* * *

_

The team had been watching as John slept for about five minutes or so. They had found a large house which had belonged to the late President Shinra and with no one inside, so they decided to put John on one of the beds until he recovered. Things were quiet after that until Barret cleared his throat very loudly.

"Cloud, can we please hear it now?"

Cloud sighed before he got up and started to walk towards the exit.

"Fine, but we're doing this outside. I don't want to wake him up."

The team ended walking a bit further from the house than they would have liked before Aeris stopped.

"I think this is far enough. John's ears are safe. Now then…"

Cloud gave another sigh before he began speaking.

"Remember how John said that he had some things to do but wouldn't exactly say what they were? Well, that's one of them."

"What do you mean "that"?" Asked Tifa, "What was wrong with him? Or should I ask what is wrong with him?"

"He says that he hears some voices…or something like that…"

"What do you mean by voices?" asked Red.

"He couldn't really explain it well, but he believes that Sephiroth is behind them."

"Why does he think that?" asked Aeris.

"Back at the Shinra building when Sephiroth attacked, John said that he looked at him and that he "knew.""

"…and this has been going on for how long?" asked Tifa.

"Since he's been with us," said Cloud before looking over at Aeris, "He said it started at your church."

"My church?" asked Aeris, surprised, "Why there?"

"I don't know, it continued after we left Midgar as well."

"And he only told you?" asked Aeris, somewhat disappointed.

"I kinda walked in on him having one of those attacks in your church."

"When?"

"Right after you were taken by Tseng."

_That must have been when he was correcting the flowers… John… _thought Aeris.

"That guy, why is he so secretive?" asked Barret out loud.

"Barret, we all have secrets. You can't blame him for wanting to keep some things to yourself."

"I guess…"

_He is quite a unique one though… _though Red as he remembered the incidents at the Chocobo Ranch and Junon.

"There, now you know," said Cloud, "Let's head back. You ask John questions if you want when he wakes up."

The team started to walk back when Tifa grabbed Cloud's arm and lightly pulled him away from the others as they continued on and went in.

"Look Cloud, I'm sorry if I went off or said something I shouldn't have back on the ship. It's just that I'm worried too," she said as she looked down.

"Don't worry about it Tifa. Like you said, you're just concerned."

_We all are…_

"Cloud! Tifa!" came Aeris's voice from the building as she rushed out, fear on her face.

"Aeris, what is it?" asked Tifa.

"It's John! He's gone!"


	31. Chapter XXXI

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John. I also do not own the rights to Def Leppard's Hysteria and Supertramp's Give A Little Bit.

As with all the other times, thank you to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

After another long wait, here's the next chapter. I started it a while back (just after finishing the previous one actually), but it took me a while to get back to it.

**

* * *

Testing Fate**

Chapter XXXI

"What do you mean he's gone?!" asked Cloud loudly.

"He's not here!" yelled Aeris in panic as they got back inside.

"There was a note," said Yuffie as she handed Cloud a piece of paper.

Cloud nearly ripped the paper straight from Yuffie's hands and began to read it out loud.

"Sorry about this, but I have to go off for a while. Don't worry about me, I'll be alright. Continue on without me and I'll probably meet up with you around the Corel area. Take care of yourselves, John."

"The Corel area?" asked Aeris, "Where's that?"

"It's to the west of here," said Barret rather sullenly, "It's pretty much the only way to go from here."

_Dammit! _thought Cloud as he pulled out his cell and speed dialed John.

"It's turned off!" he growled as rushed outside and spotted an elderly woman sitting in the sun by the exit.

"Hey, did you see a guy in a red shirt leave this place just now?"

"Yes, he left a few minutes ago. He was with this other fellow."

"What did this "other fellow" look like?" asked Cloud as he tried to hide his nervousness.

"He was blond and was wearing what looked like a very expensive white suit. They got in a car and drove off without a word."

_Rufus! A car?!_

Cloud quickly rushed down the stairs and dashed out of the entrance onto the field to look around.

_They're gone! I can __see some tire marks on the grass, but no car…_

"Cloud…" came Tifa's voice from behind him as the rest of the team approached him, "What should we do?"

Cloud was silent for what seemed to be a long time before he sighed with visible disappointment.

"Let's go back inside."

"What?!" exclaimed Aeris with shock, "What about John?! We can't leave him with Rufus!"

"There's nothing we can do now," said Cloud, his calm stature coming across as a surprise to the rest, "They're in a car, so there's no way we can catch up to them. And in our current state, we're too weak to fight off too many monsters, let alone the Shinra…"

_I can't believe it! How could I have been so stupid? We'd just gotten off the __ship; I should have known that Rufus wouldn't have been too far away!_

Tifa could see that it had hurt Cloud to say that last part.

"He's right. We don't even know where they're going. The sun is going to start going down soon too."

* * *

Back in Junon, Reno was sitting in a bar with a drink in his hand, trying to drown the news of Heidegger's report to no avail.

"We should have gone with them!" exclaimed Tseng in frustration as he downed another.

"Would we have even made a difference tough?" asked Elena, feeling uneasy about consuming alcohol with three other men she barely knew.

"We could've helped," said Rude as he followed Tseng's suit.

"Man seriously!" spoke Reno a bit too loudly, "Heidegger seriously fucked up here. Not only did Sephiroth get away, but all of AVALANCHE! If we were there, we could have at least nabbed one of those guys. I still owe one in particular for my hand…"

As Reno went back to grumbling to himself, Tseng leaned in closer to Elena and whispered in her ear.

"Hey, you don't have to worry about anything with us. No one's going to try anything funny, so relax."

"Oh umm…thanks…"

* * *

As they re-entered Costa del Sol, Aeris spoke up softly.

"Hey, let's go down to the beach; try to get some air or something…"

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea," added Tifa, trying to keep her friend's mind and her own off of what might happen to John.

Cloud shrugged in approval and they quietly made their way to the sands. Red sighed as felt to a cool breeze against his face.

Tifa started to stretch her neck, but didn't get to finish as she froze.

"Hm? Tifa, what's wrong?" asked Barret.

"Th-That man, over there…" she stuttered, looking to her left.

"Who?" asked Cloud before looking over in the same direction, eyes widening as a result, "Hojo…"

"What?!" exclaimed Aeris in fear as her head snapped in the common direction.

_This can't get worse…_

"Should we go back?" asked Red.

"No," said Aeris to the surprise of everyone, "We should see if he knows anything."

The team slowly walked over to where Hojo lay, surprisingly surrounded by young, attractive females.

"Hey, what do you want?" snapped one of them as they approached.

"I want to talk to that man," said Cloud as he pointed at Hojo.

"Professor Hojo, these scary people want to talk to you," said the woman.

"I'm busy right now," said Hojo before looking at the group, "Wait…I remember you now."

With that, Hojo stood up and faced the team.

"It's been a while."

"What are you doing here?!" asked Cloud forcefully.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting a tan."

"Answer me!" growled the leader of AVALANCHE.

"…I think we're both after the same thing," said Hojo slyly.

"…are you talking about Sephiroth?"

"Did you see him?" asked Hojo.

He could only giggle as Cloud nodded his head.

_So they don't realize that it's a clone…_

"What is it?" asked Cloud in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing. Tell me, have you ever had the feeling that you are being called by someone? That you had to visit some place?" asked Hojo in a bizarrely giddy tone.

"I'll go anywhere that Sephiroth is at! To defeat him and put an end to all of this!" exclaimed Cloud.

Hojo only replied in mostly giggles again.

"So you were in SOLDIER? Yes, this could be interesting…"

Barret noticed Cloud's hand slowly going towards his sword.

"Hey, that wouldn't be a smart think Spike," he remarked, causing Cloud to remember that they were in a civilian area.

"I notice one of your friends is missing…and that you've found a new one…"

"That's none of your business," said Cloud in a low voice.

Hojo's eyes then turned to another member of Cloud's team.

"Say, aren't you the Ancient?" he asked the flower girl.

"My name is Aeris, the least you could do is remember that!" was the forceful reply before her tone softened, "Actually, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead then," said Hojo with a smile that sent shivers down her spine.

"I know that I'm an Ancient, my mother told me."

"Your mother? Oh, you mean Ifalna. How is she?"

"You don't know?" asked Aeris, surprised, "She died about fifteen years ago."

"…I see."

_Shame, would have been good to get her back for some more experiments…_

"Professor Hojo…is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Do we all have the same blood?" she asked anxiously.

Hojo smiled to himself as he heard those words and went back to his seat, mumbling to himself.

"What is he saying?" asked Aeris.

"I don't know, but he mentioned heading west…"

"Hey! Answer us!" exclaimed Tifa.

"It's no use," said Cloud, "Let's go, this guy spoils this place."

_

* * *

--------------------------------------------_

_Def Leppard - Hysteria_

_--------------------------------------------_

As the sun was nearing its end, a black convertible was beginning to near a road on Mt. Corel. Looking at this sun and the landscape it bathed was John Reeds, who leaned against the door from the front passenger seat and ran his hand through his hair, savoring the moment. A moment when troubles seemed to be further away than before.

"You seem to be relaxed," came the driver's voice.

John looked over at the person he had wanted to get away from several hours ago as he had boarded the ship.

"Maybe I have reason to be Rufus…or do you want me to be afraid?" asked John with just a slight touch of slyness.

"No, on the contrary… after all I didn't force you to come with me. I merely threw a suggestion into the wind."

John chuckled at Rufus' words as he thought back to less than an hour ago.

_After the events on the Shinra boat, he had been awaked by a splash of water on his face. As he quickly stammered into being awake, he found himself on a bed__._

"_What the…" he mumbled before looking above him and being sent into shock, "Rufus!"_

"_Hello John," said Rufus as he calmly took a seat in __a chair next to the bed, "Are you alright? You seemed to have a seizure of a sort back on the ship."_

"_You saw that?" asked John before looking down as Rufus nodded, "That wasn't a seizure…"_

"_What was it then?" asked Rufus as John's eyes shot back up to lock with his._

"_Why should I tell you? Where are the others?"_

"_They stepped out few minutes ago…"_

_They saw! They saw the whole thing! That means that Cloud will have to tell them about me… I don't want to deal with this, not now… thought John alarmingly._

"_They'll be back soon, you know that," he said to Rufus._

"_That is true," said Rufus after pondering for a second, "__I am in danger here, so I should be leaving."_

"_Why don't you do just that then?"_

"_Because I'd like to talk to you, there are some things that I'm interested in asking…"_

"_Things? Like what?" asked John, being sure that there was more to it than he realized._

"_There's no time to mention them now. I'm going to be driving up to the family house in the mountains around Corel. Since you seem to be enjoying my deceased father's beach house__ so much, would you like to see that as well?"_

"_You're asking me to go to a house in the mountains with you?" he asked, baffled by the question, "Why would I do that?"_

"_Just a suggestion," said Rufus as he smiled lightly, "I won't force you or hold a gun to your head if that's what you're afraid of…you can leave at any time you see fit."_

_All of this made John even more confused._

_What is he talking about? What does he want to talk to me about? Why is he so relaxed?_

_As John fumbled through the questions in__ his mind, Rufus got up and started to head towards the door._

"_Oh well, I'll be seeing you I suppose…" he said in slightly disappointed tone._

"_Wait!" sprung up John instantly, "…I want your promise. Your promise as a man! I can go at anytime I want and I won't be forced to say anything I don't want to."_

"_Alright then," chuckled Rufus as he turned around__, "You have my word as a man. It'll only be the two of us there. No soldiers, no Turks."_

_Without thinking further, John took everything that wasn't explicitly for him out of his bag, __wrote a quick note with the pen and paper on the small table next to the bed, grabbed his weapons and walked up to Rufus._

"_Let's go then before they come back."_

"_You seem to be quite anxious to leave…" remarked Rufus._

"You seemed to be rather anxious to leave," repeated Rufus in the present, bringing John out of his mind, "Why?"

"I had my reasons. Didn't really want a big fuss…"

"You didn't want to talk to them about what happened on the ship?"

John's silence was proof that Rufus had hit the nail on the head for the most part.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he reminded him.

"No it's alright," sighed John, "Yeah that's pretty much it. I'd rather hold off on that…"

John knew that Rufus wanted to ask what had exactly occurred on the ship, so he decided to ask the next question.

"Rufus at what point did you arrive exactly?"

"When I looked in Jenova was walking up to Aeris…"

_Oh that part… _thought John.

"Her power is quite remarkable," said Rufus, "I had heard that the Ancients were much more capable than humans when it came to magic but that…"

"Rufus is it alright if I ask something about that?"

"Ask and we'll see," smiled Rufus.

"Tseng said that you told them to not go after her anymore, is that true?"

Rufus waited for a second before answering.

"Yes, that's true. I don't share my father's or Hojo's obsession with the Ancients and the Promised Land."

John felt a worry leave him as he heard those words.

"That's good to hear Rufus…"

"I imagine it is," added the slightly older man.

A few minutes of silence passed as John relaxed even more.

"So will you tell me what happened to you on the ship?" asked Rufus.

"Maybe…" said John, "What were the other things that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Just some stuff," replied Rufus casually, "A few things about you most of all."

"Hm? What do you mean by that?" asked John, his mind wandering around the possibilities.

"I'll explain in a more clear fashion once we arrive…" answered Rufus with a chuckle, "I wonder how much you really know about the people travelling with you…"

_Oh…now I get it…_

John laughed lightly as Rufus said those words, catching the other man off guard.

"What is so funny?"

"This," answered John as he looked over at Rufus and smiled, "I probably know far more than you think I do."

"Well then," began Rufus as he gave a smile of his own and pushed harder on the gas, "I hope that we can share our knowledge soon…"

"You may be in luck…"

Again, some silence passed before Rufus spoke again.

"Will you tell me why you didn't want to explain to them what happened to you? After all, they are your comrades, aren't they?"

John had noticed that Rufus' voice had taken on a strange tone towards the end of that question.

"They are…but there's a bit more to that. It's not as simple as it might seem…"

John noticed that Rufus hadn't answered back, implying that his question had not been fully answered.

"I might try to explain why I'm not looking forward to talking about it with them…but I don't promise anything."

"That's all I wanted to hear," said Rufus as he smiled.

"You seem to be so anxious," mentioned John, "Are you sure?"

"Sure about what?"

"That you really want to find out about me, no matter what it is…"

"I like surprises," said Rufus with humor.

"I hope you do…" chuckled John.

_Rufus…so confident that you'll be able to handle it, _thought John smugly to himself, _Well then, let's see if you can…_

_--------------------------------------------_

_End Song_

_--------------------------------------------_

* * *

At a restaurant in Costa del Sol, AVALANCHE quietly sat as they ate their meals, reflecting on the happenings of the day. What they had experienced, what they had seen. Their successes and more so their failures.

"Cloud…I'd like to apologize," spoke Barret to everyone's surprise.

"What for?"

"If I hadn't pushed you into telling us so soon after we arrived, we wouldn't have left that room and-"

"Barret, you can't take the blame for this by yourself," interrupted Tifa, "We all were anxious, and didn't care to think what would happen if we left John alone…"

"Don't," said Cloud, "It's no one's fault what happened. No one here…"

Red could sense that Cloud wasn't being entirely truthful.

_Cloud__ blames himself for leaving John there…_

"Should we be this worried?" asked Yuffie without thought, "I mean he did say that he'd be alright."

It didn't take long for her to realize that she had said the wrong thing when no reply came.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking-"

"No Yuffie," said Aeris as non-solemnly as she could, "Don't apologize. That's all we can hope for right now. That he'll be alright…"

"So we're heading west tomorrow then?" asked Tifa.

"Yeah," said Cloud, "It's pretty much the only way we can go from here. And after what Hojo said, we better hurry…"

_Corel…I'm not looking forward to this…_ thought Barret to himself.

"…may I be excused?" asked Aeris, "I need to take a walk."

A light nod from Cloud was all she needed before she bolted out of her seat and quickly walked out of the door. A few minutes passed before Red spoke up.

"Maybe you should go check on her Cloud. She's had a really tough day."

"Alright," said Cloud simply before getting up and putting some money on the table to pay for a part of the meals.

_

* * *

--------------------------------------------_

_Supertramp – Give A Little Bit_

_--------------------------------------------_

Costa del Sol kept its cheery spirit alive even in the night Cloud noticed, even though it was a different situation internally for him.

_I don't see her around the town, _he thought as he looked around, _Maybe she went to the beach…_

As Cloud walked down, he could see a figure in pink sitting by herself, watching the waves.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked as he walked up.

"…go ahead," replied Aeris in a solemn tone.

"…Are you alright?" asked Cloud as he sat down.

There was a period of silence following that question as the two stared into the distance of the water which they had crossed.

"…they're not."

"What's that?" asked a confused Cloud.

"There not Ancients, Sephiroth and Jenova."

"…are you sure?"

"Yes," answered Aeris as she looked over at him, "I don't know what they are, but they are not Ancients. They're not like me."

There was another moment of silence before Aeris continued.

"Today, when I saw her, it, whatever that thing was!" she breathed, "I knew that it wasn't like me. There's something very frightening about that creature Cloud. She's dangerous. Very dangerous!"

"So there was no connection at all?"

Aeris thought for a bit before answering.

"The planet…it is very wary of Jenova. Far more than it is of Shinra or even Sephiroth when we saw him, even if it was for a little while. I felt its worry and concern when we faced her…"

"What about Sephiroth? What does the planet say about him?"

"I don't know exactly. He's not an Ancient, but there is something about him, something very strange… His presence was…very unnatural, possibly even more than Jenova's if that makes sense. There does seem to be a connection between him and Jenova…"

"She is his mother according to him."

"Yes, but…I don't know how to explain it," sighed Aeris, "The planet senses something and is reacting to their presence, and it all seems to be even more complicated… They are one, but…"

"Hey, don't worry about it right now," said Cloud as he put a hand on her shoulder, "There'll be plenty of time for that later. We made it out alive from that encounter, and that's something."

"…yeah, I suppose it is," said Aeris as she smiled for a moment before her mind drifted, "John…you seemed to be very much in thought about him when we found out about Rufus."

"We all were Aeris…" said Cloud, even though he knew what she was hinting at as he looked at her.

_That time after Midgar…_

"You're wondering whether he was actually forced to go or not…"

"…it has crossed my mind," admitted Cloud, "His stuff was gone as well…"

"Do you really think that John would sell us out to Rufus?"

"No, I don't think that," said Cloud quickly, "I don't want to think that. But…Aeris, I'm concerned."

"I know you are. I am too…"

Aeris felt a wave of guilt wash over her as she remembered what John had done for her and what he had said back at Junon.

_John…no! There has to be an explanation. I'm sure Rufus forced him. He can't be like that…_

"John broke us out of Shinra's prison," said Aeris, "It doesn't make sense for him to throw us to Shinra…"

_But then why would he go with Rufus willingly? If he did that is…_

"I know," said Cloud, "I don't really get John sometimes. He's really hiding some stuff. It didn't seem like too much when I first met him, but now…"

_He's always been __secretive; he didn't even tell me where he was from. He just said "here and there"…_

Aeris nodded in agreement.

"I've been meaning to ask him more about himself," she said, "But I don't want to frighten him or make him worry…"

There was silence yet again before Aeris continued.

"Back at Fort Condor, he told me that he really missed his family and his home. He said that he didn't really have a choice in leaving them…"

"Aeris, what about you?" asked Cloud, shifting the subject.

"What?" asked Aeris back, surprised.

"How are you dealing with all of this? I've been meaning to ask you this. You've pretty much been uprooted from where you lived your whole life."

"Hmm…" smiled Aeris, "Don't worry Cloud. It's quite a relief actually."

"What do you mean?"

"For the first time, I feel that my life is really going somewhere. I don't know how to put it exactly, but I feel that there are very big things in store for me and meeting you guys and leaving Midgar was the first step."

"That's what I said when I left Nibelheim to join SOLDIER," said Cloud, "I was right, but not in the way that I wanted to be…"

"I'm not afraid all too much," said Aeris, "I've got all of you to protect me right?"

"Yeah, you do…"

"And I'm here to protect all of you as well, you got that Cloud?" she asked as she gave a little chuckle.

"Oh really?" he asked back with a smug smile...

"Yeah, I mean it. And not just on the battlefield. You keep so much to yourself, you don't have to do that. You can talk to us. You can talk to me, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere…"

Cloud looked into the distance as his eyes unfocused.

"Thanks…"

"Sure thing…"

After a few more minutes of silence, Aeris stood up and dusted the sand from her dress as Cloud got up as well.

"Let's go back. We wouldn't want the others to worry, now would we?" she asked as she smiled.

_--------------------------------------------_

_End Song_

_--------------------------------------------_

* * *

Long after the members of AVALANCHE had gone to their rooms, Rufus' car approached the Shinra family home in the mountains around Corel. It was a significant distance away from the reactor, so that the resultant pollution didn't affect the appeal of the location, but it still had a view of Gold Saucer, which was shining in the far distance.

"It's really something that place," said Rufus as he parked and noticed John looking out of the window in its direction, "Have you ever been there?"

"No," was the simple reply.

"You should go there at some point, it is quite a place."

As they got out of the car, John's sign shifted to the building. It wasn't as gargantuan as he thought it might be, but it was still what would be classified as a mansion. There were two floors and an attic it seemed.

"Yeah, it's really something," said Rufus, "Some people wanted us to expand it, but my father liked it like this, as did I…"

_One of the few things we agreed on…"_

As Rufus walked up to the door, John followed by his side. The interior was a sight to behold as well, with every corner looking like it was taken out of a magazine. Rufus took off his shoes and watched John do the same.

_Wow, looks like they have seen many roads…_

"Let's go," said Rufus as he began to walk.

As they walked through the house, John noticed a massive living room with a giant television on the wall and a pool table.

"That's the living room, but I find it to be too…formal sometimes. Let's go to the parlor, it's much nicer."

Rufus walked ahead to a door and opened it to reveal a smaller room. As John entered, he noticed another television on the wall, but this one was smaller. There was a table with two chairs, two lounge chairs, a sofa and a fireplace over to which Rufus went.

"Have a seat anywhere you'd like," said Rufus as he started the fire.

John walked over and sat in one of the lounge chair, giving a sigh of relief as he sank into it. He watched Rufus finish with the fire and walk over to a cabinet to get to glasses and a bottle.

"A little scotch to help us relax," he said as he smiled, "On the rocks or neat?"

John noticed that Rufus seemed a lot more natural here than he had ever seen him before, even though it was not a lot.

"Neat…"

"Excellent, that's the way I like it as well," said Rufus as he poured the drink and gave the glass to John.

He then poured one of himself and sat down in the other lounge chair next to John, putting the bottle on the floor between them.

"So…" started John as Rufus drank, not sure about what to say afterwards.

"Hm?" went Rufus as he looked over, "Drink up."

As John did just that, Rufus continued talking.

"Don't worry, we're not talking about any of 'that' today," chuckled Rufus, "You look like you need to relax, and so do I."

"Thanks," said John as he drank a little bit more and took a pause, "You know…this really isn't what I expected it would be like."

"You expected me to seat you in an uncomfortable chair and tower over you asking questions?" asked Rufus with a smile as he drank the last bit of his drink.

"Pretty much…" said John as he finished his as well.

"Fast drinker," mentioned Rufus as he picked up the bottle an poured John more, "Like me"

"Yeah, I've heard that…"

"Don't be ashamed, I think it's great. Shows passion, not wanting life to pass you by," said Rufus as he poured himself more as well before putting the bottle down and continuing.

"When I was in college, most of the other guys were so surprised by how fast I drank and how much I could drink," laughed Rufus, "They probably expected me to be some reserved duckling who had never seen any type of alcohol aside from the occasional bottle of wine."

John laughed as Rufus talked.

"Yeah, college…" spoke John as his voice died down as his thoughts drifted back to his old life.

Rufus noticed the change in John and decided to inquire.

"I'm sorry, did I say something to upset you?"

"No no, don't worry," went John as he shook his head and drank some more, "It's not your fault. Nothing that you did…"

"…were you ever in college?" asked Rufus.

John laughed in response, confusing the other man with his suddenly cheery attitude.

"Well," said John as he picked up the bottle and poured himself some more scotch, "You might say that I still am."

"What? I don't understand," said Rufus.

John extended the bottle and poured Rufus some more as he smiled.

"I don't expect you to right now…let's put that in the 'tomorrow' pile."

They sat in silence as Rufus wondered what John had meant.

"So…what made you think that inviting me up here was a good idea?" asked John.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the leader of our group is Cloud. If you had wanted some one on one talk with any of us, shouldn't it have been him?"

Rufus laughed at those words.

"I won't pretend that I know Cloud very well, but do you honestly believe that he would agree to come up here by himself?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" giggled John.

"Besides, I honestly meant it that it was you that I wanted to talk to."

"Well what makes me so special?" asked John as they continued drinking, "Aside from what you classify as 'seizures'"

"I didn't know about that until the boat ride, where I think I noticed you prior your battle. Were you one of the soldiers as I entered the boat by any chance?" asked Rufus with a smile, remembering catching eyes with one.

John nodded as he smiled as well, knowing what Rufus was referring to.

"I was so worried that you might have figured out who I was."

"I had my hunches," said Rufus, "Anyway, like I said, I had reasons to want to talk to you even prior to that. This may be stepping a bit into what we're going to discuss tomorrow, but…"

"Go ahead," said John, intrigued.

"After you left Midgar, I had Tseng do a background check on all of you in our database."

"And let me guess, you found absolutely nothing on me," said John slyly, catching Rufus off guard slightly.

"Not only nothing," started Rufus, "But your name wasn't even registered. At least not with anyone who looks remotely like you…"

John could only laugh as Rufus spoke.

"What's so funny? I'm intrigued here; just who are you John Reeds?"

John closed his eyes as he continued to laugh before he shifted his head. When he opened them, the combination of the fire and the liqueur hit them in such a way that they appeared to be burning gold.

"Rufus, you cannot even begin to comprehend who and what I am…" he said before drinking a bit more, "Yet…"

"You seem to be enjoying this," scoffed Rufus playfully.

"That's putting it too simply. And one-dimensional. It would take more than a few words to fully describe my attitude…"

Rufus smiled as John spoke.

"This is another reason why I wanted to talk to you precisely."

"Hm?"

"You have…class," said Rufus.

"Well then…thank you," smiled John.

A few more minutes passed before John slowly stood up.

"I think we should turn in. So we're rested for tomorrow. Trust me, you'll need it for what you might hear."

"Really?" asked Rufus as he got up as well, "I'll take your word for it."

Rufus led John out of the parlor and into another hall with doors.

"These are the guest rooms. You can choose whichever you want. There's a bath with towels and robes in each one."

"Thanks. I'll take this one," said John was he walked over to the first one on the left, "Rufus, I was certainly not expecting this."

"Neither was I John," remarked Rufus, "Good night."

"Good night," said John before he walked inside and closed the door.

Rufus smiled to himself as he started to head towards his room.

_This'll be nice. A small break from the company, the Turks, Heidegger…_

* * *

John sighed as he washed his hair in the shower. He made sure the savor each moment, knowing that this kind of privacy would be rare once he left.

_In fact, now that I think about it, they may try to find out even more once I get back, _he thought as he stepped out.

As he walked up to the mirror, he noticed that his body had changed. He had never been what you would call "fat" or extremely "athletic", but he had always had a reasonably healthy appearance for the most part. Now however, it really seemed like something above average. The daily excursions with Cloud and the others had resulted in some of the little bits of fat being burned off and his muscles had taken more tone.

_Heh, well, I guess there has to be something to enjoy from all this, _thought John as he put a robe on and stepped into the bedroom.

He finished drying himself off, changed into his night clothes and sank into the bed, feeling relief, along with some guilt.

_The others are still sleeping in tents with monsters outside__… Maybe I should have been clearer. I hope they take my word and don't go out of their way to try to find me. As long as they continue on the regular path, I know where I can meet them. Gold Saucer, maybe I can look around there as well…_

With that thought, John Reeds drifted off to sleep, adding an unusually peaceful but welcome night of sleep to a day that had been filled with hurdles and surprises.


	32. Chapter XXXII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

In comparison to the last few, this one came very quickly. Most of it one scene between Rufus and John, but I put in a bit of other stuff as well. Enjoy.

**

* * *

Testing Fate**

Chapter XXXII

As the morning sun ended its first hour of bathing Costa del Sol, the remainder of AVALANCHE gathered at the exit. They had gone to the shops and purchased two more of the Fire, Ice and Lightning materias, another Restore materia and Carbon bangles for everyone in the group. On top of that, they sold their unneeded baggage. They also found a Fire Ring as they had gone back to the house where they had left John to see if they could find any clues of what could have occurred there. They were unsuccessful in finding any evidence of hardship or a struggle.

"Cloud, are you sure that we shouldn't search for John?" asked Tifa.

"Tifa…" started Cloud, "We don't even know where to look. Besides, the only way we can go is west, so that's probably where they went. He said he'd meet us in that direction."

Cloud noticed that no one else was saying anything and sighed.

"Look…I'm worried too, but we have to trust that he'll come back to us. There's nothing else we can do…"

"Cloud's right," said Aeris, "Wherever John went, he won't be coming back here, and neither will Sephiroth. There's no point in staying here."

After Aeris' words, AVALANCHE quietly departed the town which was just waking up, their minds on their missing ally.

* * *

Rufus stood on the balcony outside the living room at the Shinra house, looking over the mountains heading down. He was like this for quite some time before he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw John dressed in a black shirt and a different pair of jeans.

"Did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah," said John, "Much better than I have had in a while. What about you?"

"Same," replied Rufus, "Let's eat first and then we can talk. There's always some food here."

"Alright," said John as Rufus came back inside.

John noticed that Rufus looked much different like this. His hair was down in bangs instead of being gelled, making him look far less menacing. Instead of wearing one of those expensive three piece white suits, he was wearing a simple white shirt and jeans.

"Yes?" asked Rufus as he turned back once they reached the rather large kitchen next to the living room, "Is there something you'd like to say?"

"…you look different," said John simply.

"Different?"

"I mean your hair, your clothes…"

"Oh that…there's no point in doing anything fancy with them in a setting like this. I guess it does make me look different now that I think about it," mentioned Rufus.

"Yeah. You look less…aggressive I guess…not sure if that's the correct word," said John, somewhat confused about what he was trying to say.

"Heh heh…thrust me, I can be quite aggressive when I need to be no matter what I look like," chuckled Rufus.

"I bet you can…"

* * *

Back at the Shinra Headquarters in Midgar, Scarlet and Reeve stood in the conference room, waiting for Heidegger to arrive.

"He's late," said an annoyed Scarlet, "After messing up that badly, you'd think that he would at least arrive on time here."

"Nothing has leaked about the attack though, right?" asked Reeve.

"Thankfully not," answered Scarlet, "We're going to tell the victims' families that there was a problem in the engine room and that it is because of their sacrifice that the President is alive."

Reeve nodded in approval.

"That should keep them from inquiring too much, although I don't like this…"

"Man up Reeve, you gotta lie to stay ahead in this game," said Scarlet, "And sometimes to even stay alive…"

At that point, Heidegger walked into the room, panting from exhaustion.

"Had a nice trip?" asked Scarlet with sarcasm in her voice.

"Absolutely peachy," grumbled Heidegger.

"That was a very dangerous situation that you put the President in Heidegger," said Reeve, "Might I remind you that there is no Vice President for this company currently? If something were to happen to Rufus, the Board would tear each other apart in trying to decide on a new direction for Shinra. It's not good for our image inside the company."

"You don't have to tell me that!" snapped Heidegger, "I'm in charge of Public Relations here, so let me decide how we're seen on the outside and on the inside. Don't you have a little project that you should be sending somewhere anyway?"

"Cait Sith is being transported to Gold Saucer tomorrow to wait for AVALANCHE. It should take them some days to make it there. The road to North Corel is pretty straightforward, but it's long," replied Reeve.

"Although if you had noticed AVALANCHE and captured them, there would be no need for Reeve's toy," added Scarlet as she watched Heidegger tense before changing the subject slightly, "Where is Rufus now?"

"He's gone to that house that his family has in the mountains."

"By himself?" asked Reeve.

"Yes, by himself. He insisted on it…"

"It's probably for the best," said Scarlet, "While that thing gets sent over to Gold Saucer and we wait to see if Reeve's plan works so we can track those guys, Rufus should lay low."

"I'm still not sure what the point is of wasting time using that thing," said Heidegger, "We should just go after them full force."

"Well if there was a time to catch them when they couldn't get away it was on that boat," said Scarlet as she rolled her eyes, "But unfortunately that turned out to be too tough for you."

"You're one to speak!" shot back Heidegger, "If that Motor Ball weapon had worked, they never would have left Midgar, much less the continent."

"How dare you!" went Scarlet, raising her voice "Once my new weapons begin development, you'll see that you shouldn't doubt me!"

"And what kind of weapons will those be?" asked Reeve.

"Let's just say that they'll use a different power source," replied Scarlet before momentarily pausing, "Heidegger, call Tseng up and tell them that once they go to follow AVALANCHE, I'll be joining up with them momentarily when they're around Gongaga…"

"Heidegger, did you see Sephiroth?" asked Reeve.

"No. Rufus went out and later came back, but he didn't say a word about what he saw."

"You let him leave the safe zone?!" exclaimed Scarlet, "How could you do something so stupid?!"

"Stop yelling Scarlet!" shout Heidegger, "He's the one in charge and he made the guard move!"

"Alright, come down you two!" joined Reeve, "Rufus is alright and safe now. When we can, we have to talk to him about appointing a Vice President to calm the board down."

"Then call him up," said Heidegger, "You might want to wait a day or two though…let him cool off…"

* * *

Back at the Shinra house, John and Rufus had finished their breakfast and walked back outside to the balcony. John went to the edge and looked out, seeing the desert, Gold Saucer in the distance and mountains below them.

"This is a really nice view…"

Rufus nodded in approval before he walked over to two chairs with a table between them and stat down.

"Come, have a seat."

John quietly walked over to the table and took the other seat.

"First thing," said John, "I want another promise from you. Another one as a man."

"Let's hear it."

"Whatever I say to you, whatever we talk about, it stays between me and you. You cannot tell anyone about me being here or what I will tell you. Not Tseng, not Hojo, not Heidegger, not anyone."

"Alright. You have my promise as a man. I won't say anything."

"Thank you," said John as he sighed, "So then…"

"Let's start with what I mentioned last night."

"You mean me not being in your database?" asked John.

Rufus nodded in response before he spoke.

"Our database is connected to all of the hospitals and mortuaries on this planet. Any one born or deceased is registered in the Shinra database."

"So you store information on people?"

"You can say that," said Rufus, "The amount of information is different for each person. Sometimes we add more as the years go by if we see fit. But at the very least, we have their birth and their existence registered. Your name didn't even bring up anyone with your physical appearance for the ones that we had pictures for and even the ones that didn't were nowhere in your age range."

"…I'm not surprised," said John calmly.

"I don't mean to be offensive here…" started Rufus.

"Oh don't worry on my account," smiled John, "Go ahead."

"Were you…not born in a hospital? Because some people who were added later were birthed outside, maybe at home…"

John chuckled as Rufus tried to find an explanation.

"I was born in a hospital," said John as he continued smiling, "…but not here."

"What do you mean "not here"?" asked Rufus, even more confused.

"I'm not from "here"," said John, feeling a weight starting to come off his shoulders.

"I don't understand."

"This world. This planet. This universe. I wasn't born here. I'm not from here."

Rufus found himself unable to form a response, believing that John's words to be somewhat ludicrous.

"…you don't believe me," said John plainly as he saw this.

"…how do you expect me to do so without proof?" asked Rufus with a bewildered chuckle.

"That's alright. I have something else to tell you as well. Something that may double as proof."

"Which is?"

John was silent for a few minutes before smiling again.

"You're planning to get a remote doll made by Reeve called Cait Sith to join up with us soon aren't you? To spy on us."

Rufus' eyes widened at John's words.

"H-how do you know that?"

"…I told you that it would have been good for you to rest before we talked, didn't I?" asked John humorously, "That's not the only thing I know."

Rufus took a moment to regain his composure.

"…continue then."

"You want to enter the Temple of The Ancients which is located on an island in the south..."

Rufus didn't say anything and John took this as an incentive to continue.

"…but you need to find the Keystone required to enter it."

Rufus took a deep breath and exhaled rather loudly before chuckling a bit.

"Well then, would you happen to know where the Keystone is?"

"At this moment…maybe not. It might be moving right now. But don't worry, you'll get it eventually," answered John as he smiled.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rufus, "Is that a prediction?"

"…if things go right," said John as he continued to smile.

"Well then, tell me something else that you shouldn't know," said Rufus as he smiled as well.

"You want to take Cid Highwind's Tiny Bronco to chase Sephiroth more easily."

"…that I have not discussed with anyone, how do you know that?" asked Rufus as his eyes widened again.

"…like I said, I know certain things."

"Well then…" chuckled Rufus, "Let's get off of the subject of me for a while and get onto your team. I think that you do know more about them than I think you do…"

"You would be correct," said John, the smile still not having left his face.

"Why are you smiling?"

"…it feels good to finally be able to talk to someone about this."

"Well then…let's not keep you waiting any longer," said Rufus, "Do you really know what's going on inside your leader's head?"

"You mean him believing that he used to be in SOLDIER when in reality he was a simple MP?"

"Exactly," Rufus smiled with some surprise, "Do you know why he's like this?"

"It's because of those five years in the basement in the Shinra mansion," said John as his smile faded, "He partially took on the identity of someone else when he reached Midgar."

"…and do you know who this "someone else" is?"

"Yes," said John before he took a short pause, "Zack Fair. First Class SOLDIER and Aeris' former boyfriend."

John took another pause before continuing.

"I buried him."

"Did you?" asked Rufus with surprise in his voice, "When?"

"A short while after we left Midgar. I returned on a chocobo and buried him."

"…that was nice of you. Did you know him?"

John shook his head in response.

"Rufus, can I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"Do you know how much time there was between Zack dying and Reactor No. 1 being blown up?"

"…I think it was a bit over a week. Eleven days or so…possibly ten…"

John gave a light smile and looked down as he heard that.

"…so I couldn't have saved him."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"When I got "here", it was before Cloud showed up and afterwards I wondered if I had acted differently whether I could have saved Zack or not, but I guess I never had the chance…"

There was a bit of silence after that before Rufus spoke.

"…I must be crazy…"

"Hm?"

"…I think I'm starting to believe you…"

"Oh?" asked John as he smirked ever so lightly, "You don't want to?"

"How can I when I don't know the depth of your knowledge, or what you know about me?"

"You can rest assured. I don't know anything personal about you at all," said John.

"…can you explain your "knowledge" of "everything" then?"

John thought for a whole about how he could formulate this before he attempted to.

"…I know certain things about the people that I'm travelling with and Sephiroth. As well as a few details of the past that they don't…and some of the near future."

"…the near future you say?" asked Rufus, somewhat relieved that he himself was rather safe, "You mean about us getting the Keystone and Reeve's invention?"

"Yes…I have an outline of how things should proceed if I were to never interfere."

"…and do you intend to interfere?" asked Rufus, now more inquisitive.

"…I have not done anything of the sort yet I believe. Nothing that would alter the course of events that are to come."

"You said "yet"" mentioned Rufus.

"Yes I did…"

There was another pause before Rufus let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"You were right. It is much better now that I have rested. I don't know how I could have processed this last night. Actually, I don't know how I'm doing it now," he said with a chuckle.

John gave a light laugh in return.

"Don't worry, you are doing far better than I thought you would. At least you seem to believe me."

"Yes well…let's leave your future plans for now and go back to your team. I want to talk about that Ancient in particular."

"Yes?" asked John.

"Do you know who her father is?" asked Rufus in a low voice.

John slowly nodded in return.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Rufus' voice now a whisper.

"Yes, it is."

"Tell me, if you know some things about the past."

"Yes?"

"It was Hojo wasn't it?" asked Rufus, disgust seeping through in his voice.

John nodded.

"You already knew that though, didn't you Rufus?"

"Yes, Tseng told me after you escaped, but I had a hunch before that as well."

"You're an admirer of Professor Gast then?" asked John.

"That man was the greatest scientist to ever walk this planet," said Rufus, "Hojo couldn't deal with that."

"I wonder how he feels about it," said John, "Knowing that so much of his work is now linked to his former rival's daughter?"

"…have you told her?"

John was quick to shake his head.

"No, she cannot know yet. I cannot risk that."

"Then I guess there's no sense in asking you to…divulge some of the events of the future to me then?"

"No," answered John simply, "I cannot risk altering any major events until a certain point, but…"

"Yes?"

"How long do you plan to stay here?"

"Do you want to go already?" asked Rufus, surprised.

"No no, it's not that. There's going to be a sign for when I should leave to meet up with Cloud again."

"And what will that be?"

"…there will be a shooting at Gold Saucer."

"What?" asked Rufus automatically in surprise.

"A man from the prison below named Dyne will get up there. He's from Corel like Barret, which is the prison now. He was injured by Scarlet's attack, just like Barret. He also has a gun on his arm, but on his left, and he will shoot some people in the Battle Arena. Cloud and the others will have arrived by then and they will be blamed and sent to the prison below. Once I see the news about that, I'll have to go."

"So you know about Corel then…"

"Yes…I don't blame you though, or should I?" asked John plainly, "It was your father who was in charge after all…

"I wasn't even at Shinra then," explained Rufus, "…you don't want to try to stop the shooting?"

"…I can't risk altering the big picture yet," said John quietly as he felt guilt.

"John, what is it that you plan to do?"

"…I have to prevent something," answered John after a short pause.

"Prevent what?"

"I cannot say, but I must do it. I cannot bear to watch it happen."

"You cannot tell me?" asked Rufus, somewhat disappointed although not surprised.

"You'll know when it happens," said John with a light smile, "After all, Cait Sith will be with us."

"So they're never going to find out?"

"They will, but…they'll keep him."

"You mean they'll have to?" asked Rufus, knowing what John was referring to.

"…don't hurt them, please…" said John, "I don't know if you have taken them yet…"

"We haven't yet. I'm still not sure whether we'll have to, but it looks like you know what will happen. And don't worry, we won't hurt them if or when we do, Tseng wouldn't let that happen…"

"Thanks…"

"…all for the big picture right?" asked Rufus with a smirk.

John nodded in return with a smile.

"Another question," said Rufus.

"Go ahead."

"How did Tifa get from Nibelheim all the way to Midgar? Her files mentioned that, but I don't understand how she could have made the trip all by herself."

"She was taken there by Zangan, her teacher."

"That make sense…" said Rufus.

"Speaking of Nibelheim…"

"I suppose you know about that as well then…"

John nodded.

"Yes, and I know how Shinra covered it up and what they did with its inhabitants."

"Then I wonder…do you know exactly what you are chasing?"

"Yes," smiled John, "We are chasing Jenova and a clone of Sephiroth built by Hojo which is controlled by the real Sephiroth."

"Controlled by Sephiroth? So he is alive?" asked Rufus.

"Yes, he's alive, although he's not walking out and about."

"…what happened to Sephiroth himself at Mt. Nibel? Do you know?"

"He fell into the lifestream in the reactor. I guess it carried his body afterwards. He now rests in the Crater on the northern continent."

"I see…was it Zack Fair's doing?"

"Actually no," chuckled John, "It was Cloud's."

"Cloud's? I find that hard to believe."

"It's true…"

Rufus paused for a second before answering back.

"I'll take your word then. Does Cloud have any recollection of this?"

"No, he does not know what happened when he confronted Sephiroth."

"And let me guess, he cannot expect you to illuminate that for him?"

"Not yet…"

There was a period of silence as John waited for Rufus to digest that information before continuing.

"Rufus, I'm curious."

"Hm?"

"Where was that clone of Sephiroth kept?"

"…it was kept at headquarters…"

"In Midgar?" asked a surprised John, "They allowed Hojo to store it there?"

"He didn't tell anyone…"

"Oh…"

"I sent him on vacation once I took over. The less I see him, the better…"

"He's in Costa del Sol," said John.

"Really?"

"Yes, he probably met up with Cloud and told him to go west."

Rufus chucked as he heard that.

"They can only go west; there isn't anywhere else to go."

They were quite for about a minute before Rufus spoke again.

"…what does Sephiroth want? Is he going to the Temple of The Ancients?"

John waited for a bit before answering.

"…yes, he plans to go there eventually. What he wants…it's complicated. He wants to merge with the Planet's power, but what he's going to do is actually going to end up destroying the world."

"How?" asked Rufus as he continued to process the plethora of information that he was receiving.

"There is an old magic in the Temple of The Ancients called Meteor. He plans to use it to wound the planet so that spiritual energy can gather to heal it. And he will be where the energy is gathered, becoming one with it. However, this magic will destroy everything! It's not just him, it's probably Jenova telling him this. Her cells run in him."

"…is that what is going to happen if you don't interfere?"

"…no, Sephiroth will ultimately fail even if I don't do anything. What I have to do is…something else…" said John apprehensively as an old thought came back to his head.

_If Aeris is alive and Meteor is summoned, then she won't be able to call the lifestream…_

"Is Jenova actually Sephiroth's mother?" asked Rufus.

"You don't know?" asked John back.

"Know what?"

"The story of Sephiroth, how he came to be…"

"No…at least not as much as I should according to you apparently…"

"I'll tell you then," said John before a short pause.

"Sephiroth was born from a woman named Lucreica who worked for Shinra about thirty years ago. The Jenova cells were given to him when he was still in the womb, so in that sense it is not entirely false to say that Jenova is his mother."

"Who was his father?"

"Take a guess…" said John before he gave a smirk.

"Hojo…" whispered Rufus in shock as the truth dawned on him.

"Yes, Hojo sacrificed his child to his work. He was immediately taken from Lucrecia after he was born and raised by Shinra."

"Does Sephiroth know?"

"I don't know that…"

"…I had known that Sephiroth had been with Shinra since childhood, but this… What happened to Lucrecia? Did she die?"

"…she couldn't be so lucky," answered John, "The Jenova cells have very powerful restorative abilities, so she couldn't die no matter how much she wanted to. She's still around…"

"Where?"

"She's in a cave behind a waterfall around Nibelheim…"

"I see…she's turned herself away from the world that took everything from her…"

John nodded in agreement.

"Do you know about Jenova's origins? Is she an Ancient like some at Shinra believe?" asked Rufus.

"No. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I don't know about her origins or where she came from, but the Ancients called her "the calamity from the skies". The northern Crater is apparently where she landed. She managed to use her powers to copy the Ancients and befriend them, and then infected them with her cells. She's why the Ancients, or the Cetra, were nearly all wiped out. A few surviving ones managed to seal her in the crater where she landed, until she was excavated."

"I see, so Professor Gast was wrong in that sense…"

"He found out the truth from Ifalna before his death."

"…what happened on that ship? To you…" said Rufus, slightly changing the subject.

"We saw the Sephiroth clone before Jenova attacked us… It fled…"

"And you…"

"…I don't know what happened to me exactly, but it wasn't the first time."

"I don't understand…" said Rufus.

"I've been having these short periods where I hear these voices. It's been happening since I arrived here. There are a lot of them and I can't make out what any of them are saying. Sometimes there is a larger one too… It's been more intense recently, I thought that my head would split open on the ship."

"And this is one of the few things that you don't know?"

John chuckled lightly as he nodded.

"Yes, ironic isn't it? But I'm sure that Sephiroth or Jenova have something to do with it, or that they know something."

"How do you know that?"

"Back that Shinra Headquarters, when he attacked, I followed him and got up to the top just after he had…" began John before pausing for a bit to see Rufus nod in understanding, "Then I looked out and he looked back at me. At that moment, I knew that there was something between him and what was happening to me…"

"…and you believe that you'll be able to talk to him?" asked Rufus in a somewhat bewildered tone.

"I have to try…"

"…John, how did you get here anyway? If what you're saying is true… What's the place that you come from like?"

John thought about this question for a while, deciding on how to answer it without saying too much.

"Where I come from isn't too different from this place. We don't have materia or magic, but we have cities, trains, energy companies…"

He stopped for a bit to think again before continuing.

"As for the other thing… I don't know how to explain it. All I can say is that I went unconscious and when I woke up, I was at the Sector Seven train station…"

Rufus waited for a while before asking a question that he really wanted the answer to, but did not expect to receive.

"…how do you know all of this?"

"I cannot tell you that," replied John simply with a stern look in his eyes.

"…Is it that bad?"

John nodded in response.

"It would destroy you. I wouldn't want to put you through that."

"…I'll take your word for it then," said Rufus before looking into the distance.

"…so?" went John as plainly as he could after a silent period.

"…let's go play some pool. There's a table inside," smiled Rufus as he looked back at John.

"…alright, I'd like that," said John with a relaxed light chuckle.

* * *

As the day wound down, AVALANCHE stopped for the day and set up camp. They could see Gold Saucer shining brightly in the distance as they ate. After they had finished dinner, they quietly sat around the fire that they had managed to make.

"Wow…" remarked Aeris as she looked at the structure in the desert, "We should go there if we can…"

"We'll see…" said Cloud, "If there are signs that Sephiroth is going there, then we will…"

There was a short period of silence again after that.

"…so when John comes back…" started Tifa.

"Are you sure we should be using "when"?" asked Barret somewhat sarcastically.

"What are you talking about?!" asked Aeris, alarmed.

"We don't even know if he'll be back. He was taken by Rufus, the President of Shinra! For all we know he could be getting tortured right now!"

_Somehow I don't think that's what is happening… _thought Cloud.

"He could even be dead!"

"Barret, stop that!" ordered Tifa, "We can't think like that. We have to expect him to come back…"

"…his stuff was gone as well," said Yuffie, "Couldn't that mean that he had some say in…you know…how he was taken?"

"It is surprising that Rufus would allow John not only to bring his supplies, but his weapons with him as well…" mentioned Red.

_Maybe he didn't force John to go, __or maybe John "knew" that he would need them… _

Cloud looked over at Aeris, unsurprised to see her looking at him.

"Look, we don't know why Rufus took John," said Cloud, carefully picking his words, "But he said that he would meet us around the Corel area. If that does not happen, then we'll have a reason to really worry. Until then, let's just wait and focus on our mission."

"…how far ahead do you suppose Sephiroth is now?" asked Aeris, also wanting to steer the conversation in another direction.

"…he has a bit less than a day on us," said Cloud, "But I don't know if he even needs to rest…"

"Maybe he doesn't need to, but I bet Jenova does…" said Red, "She was quite damaged from the fight."

Tifa nodded in agreement before speaking.

"…we barely made it through that fight with Jenova alone. If Sephiroth had helped her…"

"Don't think about that Tifa," said Aeris, "We'll deal with that when it happens. If Sephiroth had wanted to get rid of us, he would have done so back on the ship…"

"…why didn't he?" asked Yuffie.

"…I don't know" said Cloud rather quietly, "There was something strange about him. I mean, there always was, but now…"

Cloud shook his head as he stopped mumbling and spoke louder.

"Anyway, Aeris is right. Now isn't the time to think about this, especially with John gone. You guys turn in when you want, I'll do first watch tonight."

* * *

At the same time, John and Rufus were sitting back down in the parlor where they had been sitting the previous night, going through another bottle of Scotch.

"Do you do this often?" asked John.

"What? Drink an entire bottle of liquor with someone daily?" chuckled Rufus, "No. Sometimes I go out for a drink with Tseng, Reno and Rude, but that's pretty much it these days."

"You're talking like an old man," mentioned John as he tried not to laugh.

Rufus had to stifle a laugh in response as well.

"Well, being around Heidegger and Palmer doesn't help…"

As he finished talking, Rufus picked up the bottle and refilled both John's and his glasses.

"A drink now," he announced.

"To what?" asked John.

"To an unexpected friendship," answered Rufus as he extended his glass.

John took a deep breath and sighed out of his nose before smiling and extending his to meet Rufus.

"…to an unexpected friendship."

After they both took a drink, Rufus smiled as he spoke.

"One that will hopefully be beneficial to both of us…"

As Rufus said that, John looked over into the fireplace and felt his mind drift to what he was concealing.

…_if only you kn__ew what awaits you…_


	33. Chapter XXXIII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Like many times before, thanks to all the readers and special thanks to all the reviewers.

This one took a while longer than the last, even though it's shorter. It takes place over several days. Enjoy.

**

* * *

Testing Fate**

Chapter XXXIII

"Alright then," said Rufus as he hung up the phone before sighing.

"Who was that?" asked John as he walked by after coming out of his room.

"That was Reeve…"

"Something about Cait Sith?" asked John with a sly smile.

Rufus responded with an equal one before speaking.

"Actually, he told me that it just arrived at Gold Saucer and is waiting for your friends' arrival."

"That's good to hear then," said John simply, "I wouldn't want something to go wrong…"

"There was something else though…" continued Rufus.

"Hm? Is everything alright?"

"He would like me to name a Vice President in case something happens to me."

"He thinks your days are numbered already?" asked John slightly bewildered.

_Not that I don't know that they aren't…_

"Well he didn't phrase it exactly like that, but the Board is in a slight panic after what happened on the boat."

"They know what happened? People know?"

"The people on the Board do, but not the public. Heidegger just said that there was engine trouble," answered Rufus as he lightly rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," said John with another smile in the vein of the last.

"Of course," remarked Rufus with the same expression.

"…so who did you name?" asked John, trying to be casual.

"…I didn't name anyone," said Rufus after a pause, "I told him I'd think about it."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not sure," answered Rufus, "I'm not sure if I'll even name someone soon…"

"How did you become the Vice President?" asked John, guessing the likely answer in his mind.

"My father wanted to keep as much of the top in the family as possible. I was his only offspring, so with that philosophy he had no choice but to give me the Vice Presidency as soon as I got out of college. Let's see, that was two years ago…"

"Rufus, what's the deal between you and your father?" asked John before quickly continuing, "If you don't mind me asking that is…I mean you did tell me that you weren't fond of him…"

Rufus smiled as John tried not to stammer.

"Let's go for a walk," he announced.

"What?" asked John, a bit confused.

"We've been in this house the whole time we've been here. What kind of host would I be if I didn't show you the outdoors?"

* * *

"Well?" asked Heidegger as Reeve and Scarlet walked into the board room.

"He said that he would think about it," said Reeve as he leaned against the table.

"Think about it?!" exclaimed Heidegger in annoyance, "That means he's never going to decide and the Board is going to be on edge for at least a year!"

"Calm down," sighed Scarlet, "You're taking this too personally. Unless you thought that he would give the position to you…"

Heidegger's silence made Scarlet burst out in laughter as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Heidegger really now…you seriously didn't think that you even had a chance did you?" she asked, "It's pretty well known that Rufus isn't a big fan of yours. If I were you, I'd be doing my current job to make sure that I keep that at least, don't you agree with me Reeve?"

"Don't bring me into this…"

"Oh, I'm sure you wouldn't mind being Vice President…wouldn't you Reeve?" asked Heidegger with a slight tinge of venom in his voice.

"Lay off Heidegger!" growled Reeve, "At least I'm doing what I'm supposed to. I got Cait Sith up and running and sent it to Gold Saucer. You were supposed to see the President safely to the Western Continent and you couldn't do that. Hell, you couldn't even make sure that he stayed where it was safe on the ship!"

"He does have a point Heidegger… Besides, you know that Tseng's unhappy with what happened…" added Scarlet for that extra punch.

"I can answer to Tseng and I can answer to the President!" exclaimed Heidegger, "But I do not have to answer to either of you!"

With that he stormed past them and slammed the door behind him.

"Speaking of Tseng, weren't we supposed to call him after talking to Rufus?" asked Reeve, already knowing the answer, "He said he wanted to know who Rufus picked as soon as possible."

"I'll call Tseng," said Scarlet, "You make sure that the remote for that thing works."

Scarlet got up to walk out, but suddenly stopped.

"Hey…" she started as she turned around to face Reeve, "You don't think that he's thinking about Tseng do you?"

"Tseng? As the Vice President of the company?" asked Reeve with a light scoff, "Are you serious?"

"Well there's no other Shinra and Rufus doesn't think like his father did. Plus they're quite buddy-buddy from what I get…"

"Rufus might trust Tseng, but it's Tseng," said Reeve, "Can you really see him as the Vice President of Shinra? How would that look?"

"You do have a point," said Scarlet, "A former leader of the Turks suddenly becoming Vice President, the media would pick up on that…"

"Besides," began Reeve, "I don't think that he would accept the offer. It's just not him."

* * *

Tseng took out his phone and sighed as he saw who the caller was.

_Why her? Can't they get anyone else but her to give me a call? Even Palmer might have been better…_

"Hello Scarlet," he answered half heartedly.

"You sound unhappy to hear me…" said Scarlet in her fake coo.

"…I try to enjoy all of my off days."

"Really?" she asked sarcastically before changing tone, "Where are the others?"

"They're around. I told them not to leave the city. I assume that someone talked to Rufus."

"Yes, he said that he would think about it."

"That's all?" asked Tseng.

"Yes," said Scarlet before a slight pause, "Were you expecting anything else?"

"No, I guess I wasn't," answered Tseng, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," smiled Scarlet on the other end, "I assume you've heard that I will be joining you for a short time?"

"Yes and it's not necessary," sighed Tseng, "Can't you just tell us what you want to see and we'll look into it for you?"

"No, I'm not sure if you have the eye for this sort of stuff. I'll see you soon," said Scarlet before hanging up.

_Oh great now I have to tell the others about her… _thought Tseng.

* * *

"So where are we going?" asked John as they left the premises and started walking down a road.

"I want to show you something. I used to go there when I was younger. Haven't been there in a while."

"What kind of place is this?"

"Just a quiet little place that I don't think anyone else knew about."

They walked for a bit before Rufus went off a road and into a small forest.

"This way."

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" asked John.

"Yes, just trust me."

_Trusting the President of Shinra…how did I get here? _asked John to himself humorously.

They travelled carefully to not get caught up in the branches and eventually saw an opening.

"Here we are!" exclaimed Rufus as he walked out and stopped.

"Where?" asked John as he came out and froze.

"Wow…" he exclaimed after seeing what Rufus wanted to show him.

The view was simply unbelievable. Beneath they could see small peaks neatly lined up in random orders. Afterwards came the green ground and from where they stood they had no problem seeing beyond the mountains into the unknown. They had come to such a spot that no creation of man such as Gold Saucer or Costa del Sol was visible, only the nature which had stood since the days of the Cetra.

"I know…" said Rufus, "Standing here…you feel like a god because you can see everything. I found this place when I was a kid and came here whenever I needed to feel big or be away from everyone…"

They stood silent for what seemed to be an eternity before Rufus sat down on the ground.

"It is true," he said as John sat down next to him, "My father and I did not have a great relationship. However…"

"Hm?" asked John as Rufus quieted down.

"…don't think that this means that I do not want to be the President of Shinra."

"Alright," said John, "You thought I would?"

"I wouldn't put it past anyone. In fact it might have been because of that that I wanted this…"

"…I don't understand."

Rufus chuckled slightly before speaking again.

"Old man hated getting old to put it simply. He hated looking at death directly or dealing with anything that might have been about him having to admit mortality. That included naming someone who would eventually take his place at the company."

There was a bit of silence before he continued.

"His brother, my uncle, was the previous Vice President and he died about two years before I took over. He had been there for many years and father did not want another reminder that his end was coming. I heard from Tseng that the Board had pressured my father into naming another Vice President, even though everyone knew who it would be. I wasn't surprised either; I just knew that it was a matter of time. He did not even bother to tell me personally. I received a letter saying "congrats, come here at this time and meet these people." It was all folks that I had already met many times before. Heidegger was there, Palmer, Scarlet… But even then I didn't really have any duties. I just made appearances here and there and posed for photos."

"So now you have something to do…" mentioned John.

"Exactly," said Rufus, "I didn't think that this time would come so quickly, but I'm glad it did. I was beginning to think that I would waste my twenties doing absolutely nothing. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like that's going to happen."

As Rufus said that, John looked up at the sky as the near future played in his head again.

"Was it quick?"

"Huh?" asked back John, confused.

"His death. Was it quick?"

"Yeah, it was quick."

"That's a shame…" remarked Rufus.

"What do you mean?"

"…like I said, my father loathed death in all of its forms, even when it struck home."

Rufus stopped again for a bit before going on.

"Around twelve years ago, my mother got sick. Very sick. The doctors said that she wouldn't make it. And after that was said it was as if she had already died to my father. He avoided her and even slept in a different room, no matter how much she tried to get his attention. She…she kept asking me to bring him, but every time I tried he'd pretend that I wasn't there… It was long, she held on to the very end no matter how much pain she was in, hoping to get his attention at least one last time. That never happened…"

"…I'm sorry, I didn't know that…" said John.

"Yes well, I'm glad that you didn't until now."

They stayed in silence after that, with Rufus' mind on his current position as the President of Shinra and John's on the secret he was keeping from Rufus.

* * *

"You've gotta be kidding Tseng!" exclaimed Reno, "This isn't funny!"

"Who said I was joking? When we get the order from Rufus, we will head to the Western Continent and for a very short period of time we will be joined by Scarlet."

"What could she want to look at in Gongaga?" asked Elena.

"There's a ruined reactor there," said Rude, "I bet it has something to do with that."

"I am not going to babysit Scarlet!" yelled Reno, "What happened to going after AVALANCHE?!"

"No one's asking you to babysit Scarlet!" came back Tseng with a loud voice, "Reeve moved that thing to Gold Saucer today, now all we have to do is wait for them to arrive."

"Are we sure that they'll stop at Gold Saucer?" asked Elena.

"…we hope that they do. If not, we'll just think of something else, but it'll be more challenging for us to tail them without Reeve's help."

As Tseng finished talking Reno walked over to the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Rude.

"To remind myself why I love women before Scarlet's presence tries to ruin that!" answered Reno before slamming the door.

"I swear…" mumbled Elena with a disgusted look on her face.

* * *

The following morning, Tseng called up Rufus.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" asked Tseng.

"No, I've been up for a while," said Rufus as he looked over the balcony, "What's wrong?"

"The others didn't exactly take the news of Scarlet coming with us well…"

"By "others", do you mean Reno?" chuckled Rufus.

"Who else? He went out last night to prowl and it looks like he was successful…"

"Good for him…someone should be having fun, even in these times…you should relax a bit too…"

Tseng made shrugging noise before speaking.

"Thanks for the suggestion, how are you enjoying solitude?"

"It's nice…good to be away from Heidegger."

"I imagine it must be, I feel sorry for Reeve that he has to stay in Midgar with that guy."

"Indeed."

"Rufus, Scarlet said that you haven't made a decision yet…"

"No, I haven't," said Rufus, "Do you have any suggestions?"

"No, but you do know that the Board will trust you more if you name someone. It doesn't really matter who it is."

"I know that, but hopefully I won't be seeing the Board together for a while."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but listen…"

"Yes?"

"If you can, could you find out what Cid Highwind is doing these days?"

"Cid Highwind? You want to go into space or something?" asked Tseng sarcastically with a very light laugh.

"No, but…do see how he is. I have an idea. I'll fill you in when you get here…"

"And when will that be?"

"In a few days I guess, take care of yourself until then."

"Alright, you too. Good bye Rufus."

"Good bye Tseng," said Rufus as he hung up and looked over to see John giggling.

"Something funny?"

"Yeah, there's something funny…" answered John humorously.

"Could you enlighten me?"

"No…but you'll see eventually…"

"Is it something to do with the "near future" that you know?" asked Rufus in a lighthearted and somewhat sarcastic tone.

John didn't answer, letting a sly smile do the talking.

* * *

Dio was usually one of the most cheerful people you could encounter, and today was no different. Every day, he tried to take a look in every part of Gold Saucer, to make sure that everything was up to speed and that people were enjoying themselves, and right now it was time to look at his collection in the Battle Arena. As he walked in, he saw what looked like a young silver haired male looking around the items and so, Dio's friendly nature found it only natural to try to initiate some sort of conversation.

"Liking what you see there boy?"

The visitor looked over at Dio before speaking.

"As a matter of fact I am, you are the owner if I am not mistaken, correct?"

"Why yes I am," replied Dio heartily, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you have something that I am looking for. It's called "Black Materia.""

"Black Materia? I'm sorry, but I don't think I've ever heard of that."

"Oh," said Sephiroth simply, "I shall be going then. Thank you very much for your time. Take care."

With those words, the mysterious stranger walked out, leaving Dio alone.

…_what a nice young boy. Such good manners…_

* * *

While John and Rufus continued to rest in the mountains, the remainder of AVALANHCE approached the beginning of the path up Mt. Corel. It had already been a few days since John had left and anxieties were running high.

"Wasn't he supposed to meet us around here?" asked Yuffie.

"This wouldn't be the place," replied Barret immediately, "There should be a settlement over the mountain, that's where he might be."

"A settlement? What do you mean by that?" asked Aeris.

"Wait and see…" grumbled Barret as he walked ahead.

"What's wrong with him?" whispered Yuffie to Tifa.

"I'm not sure…" was the reply.

With Barret talking the lead now, they slowly started to walk up the road. It wasn't long before they saw a man sitting on the ground.

"Look, there's someone there," said Yuffie.

"…let's ask him if he's seen John," said Red.

"Good idea," followed Cloud.

Upon reaching him, Tifa walked forward.

"Sir, are you alright?" she asked.

"Hm? Oh wow, you're actually talking to me!" exclaimed the man in surprised.

"Is something wrong?" asked Tifa.

"No no, I'm just tired. I work maintenance in this area. But a while back I passed this guy in black and I tried to tell him that it's dangerous ahead. But he didn't listen and just went on…"

Cloud's eyes widened as him. As he looked around, he got nods from his teammates, reassuring him that they were on the same page.

"Did someone else come by here?" asked Cloud, "Someone in a red shirt?"

"No, I haven't seen anyone else here recently."

"Alright then, thank you," said Cloud before the team quietly walked off.

Once she decided that they were far away enough from the man, Aeris spoke up.

"So it looks like John didn't come through here…"

"I'm not surprised," said Cloud, "Rufus is the President of Shinra. If they passed by this area, Rufus would have made sure that they took a route where they couldn't be seen."

Just as Cloud stopped talking, he saw Aeris freeze as she looked to her side.

"Aeris, what's wrong?"

"Look…" she whispered as she pointed in the distance.

The team looked in the direction that she was mentioning and among the lightly greened and rocky ground, they saw a figure in a black hood making its way closer.

"It's one of them…" said Cloud.

"Who is that?" asked Red, "Have you seen them before?"

"Yeah," said Cloud, "I don't know what they are, but while we were at Fort Condor, John, Aeris and I saw one in the far distance when we were outside. John and I saw another that night at the Mythril Mine as well."

"I saw another when I went to get firewood that night in the forest after Fort Condor…" said Aeris quietly, but with enough volume so that everyone could hear, "I lifted its hood, it looked…dead."

"Dead? What do you mean?" asked Tifa.

"It was white! Its skin, eyes, it was all white! It looked like it was frozen in decay or something…"

"And you waited this long to tell us?" asked Yuffie.

"…we didn't know what they were, and we still don't…" said Cloud, knowing the excuse wasn't good.

"Can we go?" asked Aeris as she forced herself to remove her eyes from the black figure, "We can talk about this later, when we're away from…that."

No words were said as they slowly started to walk upwards again. It was not long from there until they say a clearing and a massive structure at the bottom.

"A reactor!" exclaimed Tifa.

"I didn't think there'd be one here," said Yuffie, "But then again Shinra's got them everywhere…"

Cloud noticed that Barret's left hand was balled into a fist and shaking.

"Barret, are you alright?"

No response.

"Barret!"

"…let's go," he said quietly, "Don't wanna look at this."

"Barret, what's this about?" asked Tifa.

"I said let's go!" yelled Barret, "Weren't you guys just talking about how we have to be on our way?! We can't let Sephiroth get too far ahead! We have to find John as well so let's go!"

With that Barret started to walk down the stairs, the rest of the team slowly walking behind him.

* * *

On the far outskirts of North Corel, a lone figure walked a path until he stopped in the shadows.

"Thanks for waiting."

"I swear, was it really necessary for you to go to that place? It's not as if someone there knows anything we need." asked the alien creature as she emerged.

"It didn't hurt. I talked to the owner, but he didn't know anything about the Black Materia. That might mean that nobody has gotten it yet…"

"You really needed confirmation on that? They cannot even enter the Temple without the Keystone. Why don't we search for that?"

"We could…" said Sephiroth, "But we don't even know where to start. Why don't we let others do it for us?"

"Others? By that do you mean our followers?"

"Of course," he replied with a smile, "Didn't you tell me that Shinra is looking to enter the Temple as well?"

"That is true, that scientist Hojo seemed to be very interested in it after I mentioned it… He even sent out teams to investigate it and has been looking for the Keystone since."

"Well in that case, I'm sure Cloud and his team couldn't resist trying to one up Shinra. They'll try to find the Keystone first once they learn about it, and they might actually succeed. Either way, why overexert ourselves when it's a given that someone will do our job for us?" asked Sephiroth calmly.

"In that case, where do you want to go? We have to move somewhere if we don't want to meet them in person again."

"…let's go to Nibelheim," said Sephiroth after a period of thought, "Apparently it has been rebuilt from what you have told me…"

* * *

The trek through Mt. Corel had left the team groggy as they found themselves at the entrance of North Corel. Along the way, Aeris had found the Wizard Staff in an old supply room, which she had switched with her Striking Staff. She had removed the Heal Materia and switched the Restore and All materias to her Carbon Bangle while moving the Fire and Revive materias to the staff. As they entered, Barret walked forward, one of the residents noticing him.

"Well, lookey here! Never thought I'd ever see your face again." he said as he punched Barret, "Those people over there, they with you? Well, I feel sorry for em! Hangin' around a walkin' death sentence like Barret."

"You got a lot of balls comin' back here! Look at this place! It's all your fault we're living in a garbage heap!" exclaimed another.

"Why doncha say something?! Or did ya forget what you done here already?" asked the one who had punched Barret.

"…I'm sorry…" was the weak reply.

"You ain't even worth the effort," the man said as he walked away.

"Barret! Are you alright?" asked Tifa as she walked up to him and knelt down.

"You heard em… It's my fault they're living like this…" said Barret as he looked into her eyes.

He got up and walked away in the direction of the Ropeway Station, leaving others behind.

"What was that?!" exclaimed Tifa as she walked back to Cloud.

"I don't know, I think we should let him be for a while…"

Aeris nodded in approval.

"Let's look around to see if we can find John…"

The search proved to be unfruitful. The settlement was small enough to look over and see that he was not there. Whenever they entered the weak structures to see if he was inside, they received dirty looks because of their allegiance with Barret.

"Looks like he's not here," said Red.

"…let's go find Barret then," said Cloud.

The team quietly made their way over to the Ropeway Station to see Barret standing quietly by himself.

"…so you didn't find him…"

Cloud shook his head in response as Aeris walked up to Barret.

"Barret, what happened?" she asked.

This led to Barret telling the story of the demise of Corel at the hands of Shinra, a story which John knew very well.

"Hey everyone! If you want to go to Gold Saucer, hurry and get on!" interrupted the man at the booth when Barret was closing.

"Dyne was my best friend. We'd been close since we were kids…" finished Barret as he went inside the Ropeway.

"I never knew. Barret never said a thing…" said Tifa as she went to join him.

The rest of AVALANCHE that was present silently went into the ropeway as well.

"You think that John's at Gold Saucer?" asked Aeris.

"We can only hope…" answered Cloud.


	34. Chapter XXXIV

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

And so, after a long time, here's the next chapter.

Lots of thanks if you're still reading or if you have been waiting.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXXIV

In the basement of Corel Prison, Mr. Sykes walked up to the elevator and pressed up, eager to relax after a day's work and watch a chocobo race in the Gold Saucer above. As the lift rose, he was too peaceful and calm to notice a figure sneak from the shadows to grab onto the underside of the platform with one arm…

* * *

A bit earlier, the members of AVALANCHE rubbed their eyes as bright lights were shined into them from the Gold Saucer strobelights.

_Ugh, this is not what I wanted…_ thought Cloud.

As the Gondola stopped, Aeris was the first one to jump out with the rest disembarking at a slower pace.

"Come on! Let's go inside!"

"I think there's a price we have to pay…" mentioned Tifa as she pointed ahead to the ticket booth.

Cloud sighed as he walked up to the vendor.

"…how much?"

"3000 gil for a single pass! 30,000 for a lifetime pass!" the woman exclaimed with an unnatural glee.

"…we'll take a single," said Cloud emotionlessly as he handed over the money.

Inside, Aeris' giddiness did not subside as she looked around. At the same time, Barret was looking into the nonexistent distance, trying to get his mind off his memories.

"…so does anyone have any idea where we can find John here?" asked Yuffie.

"Isn't the question supposed to be "Is John even here?"" added Red with slight sarcasm.

"Alright now," began Tifa, "We're doing the best we can given that we don't really have much of a lead right now."

_Ugh, we're supposed to be looking for Sephiroth! Not John…_ grumbled Cloud in his mind.

"Look! Y'all can go look for John anywhere you want!" exclaimed Barret in frustration, "I'm gonna go for a walk!"

With that, Barret walked over to one of the pipes and jumped in.

_Oh great, more people walking off… Seriously, this is not what we need right now…_

"Alright, we should split up now then," he announced as he turned to face the team, "Just look around this place and contact the rest if you see John or something relating to Sephiroth."

As Cloud walked over to the pipe leading to the arcade square, he heard footsteps rushing up to him.

"Hey wait for me!" called Aeris.

_Why is it that everyone else can simply walk off for alone time but I can't?_

* * *

Breathing silently, the convict prepared his weapon and leaped out of hiding, unleashing his wrath.

* * *

"Hey you, what're you looking down for?"

Coming out of the pathway into the Arcade Square, Cloud and Aeris caught the eye of a large creature. Upon closer inspection, it was a large Mog with a cat on top of it that emanated a voice. It was also walking towards them.

"What is that?" whispered Aeris.

"No clue," answered Cloud, "Leave this to me."

Unfortunately, the creature spoke once again before either of them did.

"How bout it? Want me to read your fortune? Won't be my fault if it ain't pretty though."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" asked Cloud.

"Oh, my apologies to you good sir!" chimed the respondent, "My name is Cait Sith, fortune telling extraordinaire!"

"Hmm…are you saying you can only read the future?" asked Cloud, "Oh, and I'm Cloud and this is Aeris."

"Are you really thinking that low of me?" quipped the cat, "I can find missing things, missing people, anything!"

"People…hmm…" began Cloud before Aeris stepped in.

"Could you please tell us where a man named Sephiroth is?"

"Alright then, here goes!"

The mog began to awkwardly gyrate, as the cat seemed to dance on it while typing into what looked like an accounting calculator.

"Here you go!" exclaimed Cait Sith as he stopped and handed Cloud a piece of paper.

A bit warily, Cloud took it and began to read with Aeris looking on.

"What you pursue will be yours, but you will lose something dear."

An awkward silence set over the three of them, before the cat tried to lighten the mood again.

"Wow, I've never gotten anything like THAT! I don't know if it's good or bad."

"Yes well," said Cloud, "We should be on our way".

As they started to turn away, Cait Sith ran around the their front.

"Hey hey, you can't just leave me like this. I have to come with you now to see if my prediction comes true."

"You've gotta be kidding!" exclaimed Cloud.

"Nope, and there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise. I've got to satisfy my curiosity."

Sighing, Cloud started walking towards the way to the Speed Square. Unlike her comrade, Aeris looked up at Cait Sith and smiled.

"Welcome aboard I guess, just watch your back. We usually get into some tight spots along the way."

* * *

Back at Shinra Headquarters, Reeve leaned back and smiled to himself.

_Excellent, that was far easier than I thought it would be. Won't Scarlet and Heidegger be jealous of my success while their stuff just keeps blowing up…_

* * *

Entering the Speed Square, Cloud, Aeris and their new ally were approached by a large man who was wearing nothing but a tight red pair of underwear, looking like he was about to pose for a bodybuilding competition.

"Boy, you having fun?" the man asked very loudly.

"Stop calling me a boy," said Cloud, "Who are you anyway?"

The man smiled and raised his muscular arms.

"Me? My name is Dio, and I'm the owner of Gold Saucer."

_What is it with all these characters here? _thought Cloud to himself.

"Say boy," began Dio again to Cloud's annoyance, "Do you know what a 'Black Materia' is?"

"No , I've never heard of it before."

"Ahahaha, you lie boy."

"Why would you think that I would know what it is?" asked Cloud.

"Well, a few days ago, a boy about your age asked me if I had one."

"What did he look like?" asked Cloud.

"He had a long black cape and silver hair. Had a really long sword on him too," chuckled Dio, "Boys and their fighting hobbies…"

Cloud and Aeris' eyes then met in a worried union.

_He was here! We must be on the right track then… What is this Black Materia and what does it have to do with him?_

* * *

Tifa sighed as she sat down on the stool.

"Yo, give me something strong!"

"Coming right up Miss," replied the bartender as he whisked away to prepare her drink.

_Wasn't too long ago that I was doing this, _she thought, _I kinda miss it, there seemed to be less worries, less people to worry about…_

It was then that her thoughts rearranged as she lowered her head.

_Although, it might seem like that because the people I was supposed to look after are almost all dead…_

"Here ya go!" came a holler as a drink slid into her hand.

Tifa raised her hand with thanks before bringing the drink to her mouth and gulping some of it down.

_Heesh, that is strong, well guess I got what I wanted…_

As Tifa continued to drink, her mind continued to wander.

_Where are we going? We still don't know where Sephiroth is heading… The Promised Land? Where is that? What is it? Not even Aeris knows, and if she doesn't, then how can we hope to know? We can't even keep our team together… Where's John? I hope he's ok… I hope Rufus hasn't done anything to him… But would he even need to? There were no signs of struggle in the room, did John just go with him? Why? And then there's still Cloud, I'm still not sure why he believes something that is false…why he knows things that he shouldn't… He wasn't there…was he? No, I would have seen him then, there's no way I wouldn't have recognized him…_

As she continued to muse, Tifa noticed that her drink was finished. As she raised her head to find the bartender, she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye, which made her turn sharply to the right to look at a chocobo jockey sitting at the right end of the table.

_Hey, that's the guy that I saw John talking to back at Kalm, the chocobo jockey. He's the one who gave John that chocobo that he took out that night… Now that I think of it, I've seen him somewhere else as well…_

Tifa then looked over to one of the television screens to see his face on it before it switched to him riding a black chocobo as the report continued.

"…but yet it seems that there are none who can stand up to Chocobo Joe, who with his black chocobo Zeke, continue to plow through their competition…"

_That's Chocobo Joe! I should have recognized him, he was on all the time when we showed chocobo races back at the bar…"_

"Hey, gimme another," said Tifa to the bartender, who quickly responded by giving her ore of what she had just had.

"Excuse me," said Tifa as she walked over to Chocobo Joe and took a seat next to him, "Could I ask you about something?"

"Is it about an autograph?" asked Chocobo Joe.

"Not quite. Not to insult you though. I'm on a trip now and I'd probably lose it. What I want to talk about concerns a friend of mine…"

"A friend of yours? Would it be someone that I know?" asked Joe, rather surprised.

"His name is John. I'm pretty sure I saw the two of you talking in Calm and then that night, I saw him leave on your chocobo…"

"Oh that guy," remember Joe, "So his name was John? I never did get it, he seemed to be in a real hurry, but didn't look like a bad guy or a dangerous one that Zeke couldn't deal with. He really seemed anxious too, so I didn't really see harm in letting him borrow Zeke for the night. He even paid and everything…"

"He paid?" asked Tifa.

"Yup, 2000 Gil up front. That wasn't as strange though as his other request though…"

"What was that?" asked Tifa, now more curious than ever.

"He asked me to leave a shovel along with Zeke as well…"

"A shovel?" asked Tifa, now confused, "What for?"

"He didn't say and I didn't ask. In the morning I found both Zeke and the shovel where I had left them. Zeke seemed fine, so I saw no reason to think of it much further…"

_This whole thing concerning John just gets weirder and weirder…_

* * *

After wandering some more around Gold Saucer, Cloud, Aeris and the newest member of their group found themselves coming out of the entrance to the Battle Square.

_Maybe John will be here…_

To their dismay, they only saw a lone Shinra soldier standing.

"What now?" whispered Aeris.

"It might look too suspicious to walk back, let's just try to act casual and see if we can get in" suggested Cloud.

As they approached him however, he slumped down and fell to the ground. Shocked, Cloud ran forward and checked his pulse.

"He's dead!"

"What? Why?" asked Aeris dumbfounded.

Not answering, Cloud ran up the stairs with his comrades right behind him, up to a scene of carnage upon their entrance. The room was filled with bodies bleeding on the ground, either dead or moaning in pain.

"Dear God!" Exclaimed Aeris as she looked around her, "Who could have done this? Was it Sephiroth?"

"…no," answered Cloud, "These people have been shot. That's not Sephiroth's style."

Just then, they heard the woman at the counter groan in pain. They ran over to her and asked for what had happened.

"A man…with…a gun…on his arm…" wheezed the woman before losing consciousness.

"No way!" exclaimed Cloud as they heard footsteps running behind them.

They turned around to see Dio accompanied by two security guard approach them.

"Hey, did you do this?" asked Dio forcefully.

"No, we just got here," answered Cloud, trying to explain.

He didn't get much further though as Cait Sith started to run up the stairs into the fighting arena.

"We gotta get out of here guys!" he exclaimed in fear as he ran forward, followed by Aeris.

_Oh great, this looks really innocent…_ thought Cloud as he ran after them.

They ended up on a platform on water with a locked door in front.

"We're trapped!" exclaimed Cait Sith.

As the turned around again to see Dio once again, the door opened and a machine with clamps for arms emerged and grabbed Cait Sith.

"Ahhh!"

As Cloud and Aeris about-faced once more, two identical machines jumped from above and grabbed them too.

"Hey! You're making a mistake!" yelled Aeris.

"There's no need to listen! Pay for your crimes down below!" yelled Dio on anger before turning to his guards "Look through the security footage and find the people they came in and throw them down too. Let's hope they haven't hurt anyone. The media'll be here soon…"

* * *

Meanwhile at the Shinra house in the mountains, John and Rufus had been playing another round of pool with the television on when the news broke.

"Now a new shocking story. A shooting at the popular amusement attraction, Gold Saucer. Several personnel and soldiers of the Shinra Corporation were found with bullet holes by the area's owner, Dio."

_It's time, _thought John to himself as he looked over to Rufus and nodded.

Rufus did the same as their heads turned back to the television.

"Several suspects have been arrested with relation to this shooting, according to the Gold Saucer staff," continued the reporter, "There are also words going around that one of them might have been a member of SOLIDER, Shinra's elite group of fighters. Why would a Shinra fighter attack his own? We are hoping to give you the answers to those questions very soon."

Rufus sighed as he heard his cellphone ring.

_Right on cue…_

"Hello Heidegger," he answered plainly, "Looks like your week finally got somewhat exciting again…"

John smiled to himself as he heard Heidegger bellowing on the other side.

"Calm down!" snapped Rufus eventually, "You're a Shinra executive, so act like one and do your job! Just tell them that it was an amateur who got his hands on one of our uniforms or something. I swear, how do you find this challenging after everything with the boat…"

After more word from Heidegger, Rufus spoke again.

"Yes, I'm well aware that it is most likely AVALANCHE, but honestly if we look into this now, we'll be forced to take them in to look good. That would mean that the Ancient girl would be back at headquarters with Hojo demanding more crap from us and continuously distracting us from more important things! Let things sort themselves out! If they stay there, then good for us! If they die there, then good for us as well! If they escape, well it's not like they can get back to Midgar to cause us more trouble the next day, is it?"

With that Rufus hung up just in time to hear his phone ring again.

_I know who this is as well…_

"Tseng, I assume you're watching the news as well?" smiled Rufus as he answered again, "Do you know if it is AVALANCHE then?"

A confirmation from Tseng from the other side along with an explanation made Rufus look over to John as he continued to smile.

"So Reeve's thing works after all then? Good job to him on that. Why would we go there now Tseng? I had the same conversation with Heidegger. There's no point in that. Especially now with Reeve's creation being our eyes on the inside. Why spoil his reward and our fun?" chuckled Rufus.

"I agree, it would be a good idea to meet soon. Why don't you guys fly over here sometime tomorrow afternoon?" suggested Rufus after Tseng had spoken again, "But leave the others in Costa Del Sol and tell them to get ready. I've really enjoyed the peace here and I don't want needless bickering to ruin that. Besides, with Reeve's plan a success, you guys might be on the move again soon should AVALANCHE escape, and I wouldn't put that past them."

"Alright then, be sure to be well rested. We'll have a lot to discuss," finished Rufus as he hung up, leaving himself and John in the relative silence of the TV report continuing.

"So…I guess I'll be going early then…" said John.

"You can leave at whatever time you see fit, Tseng will be sure to call me before they get close and if you really want, you could wait until then I suppose," said Rufus.

"No no no, that's alright. I'll need some time to get over there anyways. I'll probably leave at dawn…"

"Hm?" smirked Rufus humorously, "Don't be ridiculous. I drove you here and I'll take you a reasonable distance to your destination."

"That's not nece-" tried to reason John before he was cut off again.

"Nonsense. You need to get to them as soon as possible and it would best not to arrive half dead from exhaustion," explained Rufus confidently, " I'll take you up to the bridge which reaches North Corel. You can get to them quickly that way then."

"Won't Tseng be suspicious if he sees your car with dirt marks?"

"It's not unusual for me to drive around when I'm up here. In fact, that is what I usually do when I don't have company. So if anything, it'll make it more convincing that I was up here alone this entire time."

"…you've got this all figured out then haven't you?" asked John humorously.

"Well, you've seemed to have a figurative upper hand in pretty much hall of our conversations while we've been here," replied Rufus with the same tone, "It wouldn't be very presidential of me to leave it there, would it?"

"No, I suppose it wouldn't…" said John back, the smile still on his face.

"Alright then, now that that's settled, let's get back to the game," said Rufus as he went over to the table again, "We can have some more drinks again before we head off to sleep, nice way to cap it off…"

* * *

Tseng walked back into the hotel suite to find the rest of his team as he had expected. Elena was on the couch watching the news, Rude was sitting in the corner reading a novel, and Reno was sitting in an armchair taking swigs of Vodka.

"One of these days," started Tseng as he walked over to Reno, "We're going to get attacked…"

He swiped the bottle away put it on a table.

"…and you're going to be hangover, which will result in all of our deaths. Can't you save this for vacations and off days?"

"I thought this was an off day," murmured Reno loudly, "We ain't done shit today."

"Well then, you'll be happy to know that I just spoke to Rufus then."

"What did he say?" asked Rude, looking up from his read.

"Ey, look who decided to come alive!" laughed Reno.

"Reno! Let Tseng speak, this could be important" exclaimed Elena nervously.

"Thank you Elena," said Tseng, "We'll be travelling to the Western Continent tomorrow. We'll be staying in Costa Del Sol, and I will go see Rufus to talk about what to do next. We'll likely be tailing AVALANCHE soon."

"AVALANCHE?" laughed Reno again, "Aren't they done now? Let Corel Prison take care of them."

"I wouldn't expect them to remain there for very long," said Tseng, "Or have you already drank the memories of their escape from Midgar already?"

As Reno rolled his eyes, Rufus got up and approached Tseng.

"Tseng, is this really what we're doing now, following some random group around?"

"Rude, they are following Sephiroth. If we follow them, we'll eventually find something about him. Besides, it's a lot easier and a lot safer to follow them rather than to try to follow Sephiroth directly."

"What about Scarlet?" asked Elena.

"She'll be coming in there sometime tomorrow as well."

Reno cursed loudly.

* * *

Cloud, Aeris and Cait Sith were dumped onto the ground by the machines.

"Where are we?" asked Aeris as they got up.

"This must be Corel Prison," said Cloud, "I've heard of it, a desert prison at the base of Gold Saucer. It's surrounded by quicksand, so escape is supposed to be impossible."

"What? What are we going to do?" asked Cait Sith.

"We can barely see now. We have to find someplace to rest for the night and take turns keeping guard. We can only hope that the others are safe."

"Cloud, what about John?" asked Aeris, "What if he's looking for us?"

"We can't really do anything about that," answered Cloud with a disappointed tone in his voice, "I hope he's safe too and that he finds out about where we are."

* * *

As the sun started to birth the new day, a lone vehicle a lone vehicle drove out at a reasonable pace from the Shinra estate.

"You didn't have to do this…"

"Not this again," sighed Rufus, "Are you sure you don't want me to give you a new pair of shoes? Those look pretty worn…"

"Thanks for the offer again, but I'm sure you'd agree that it would look pretty suspicious…" chuckled John.

"That I do, that I do…" smirked Rufus before continuing, "So do you know how you will explain your absence? Or tell them about your situation with those voices?"

"Hmm…" thought John for a few seconds before answering, "I'll deal with that when it comes up. Maybe I won't tell them anything…"

"You think they'll allow you to leave it at that?"

"Well, they'll have to pull it out of me with a lot of force then…" said John.

"Aren't they supposed to be your friends?" asked Rufus, "Surely you can't prevent whatever incident you don't want to occur if you don't follow them?"

"True…I'll see what happens I guess," answered John, "hopefully if I have a part to play in their escape, then they won't overreact…"

"Escape? From Corel Prison?" chuckled Rufus, "Are you even sure you can do that?"

"Well, they're not exactly supposed to need me, if you catch my drift…"

"Haha... I see…"

"Do you believe me after all of this then?" asked John.

Rufus was silent for a few moments before answering.

"Well…let's say that I am more intrigued than anything. You present a very difficult case for anyone to fully comprehend, but your knowledge of plans that I have not even uttered to another soul cannot be denied…"

"Well then," said John, "Regardless of whether you believe me or not…"

Finishing his sentence there, John merely placed a folded piece of paper next to Rufus.

"Hm? What is that?" asked Rufus, somewhat confused.

"Take that with you, but don't open it until you've retrieved the Keystone. And remember, up until that point, do everything as if the past few days had never occurred."

Rufus stayed silent as John continued.

"If you were to act differently, then other events would most likely change as well. I only know how things are most likely to proceed if that doesn't change. But…that does not mean I cannot try to help you in another way…"

"Help? Why would I need your help?" asked Rufus, trying not to sound too arrogant.

When Rufus looked over at John for a second, he saw a melancholy look to his face and voice as he spoke.

"You'll see Rufus, you'll see…"

As they approached the bridge, John shifted tone and asked another question.

"Speaking of explanations, how are you going to explain this to Tseng and the others should they find out?"

"I highly doubt they will unless I want them to. And besides, they don't have any other Shinra to replace me with and I highly doubt that they're going to be able to stand each other enough to decide on a replacement for me…"

As Rufus finished speaking, the car came to a stop at the beginning of the bridge. He was about to start again when John jumped in.

"Thanks."

"Are you sure you should be thanking me?" asked Rufus with a smirk, "For all you know, I could have jeopardized your mission."

"Somehow I don't think that's what's going to happen," chuckled John, "but even so, as unfair as it was for me to relax up there while the rest of my team was worried about me and in danger…I had a good time."

"Heh, well then…even though I should have been plotting how to destroy you instead of inviting you to join me…I had a good time too," copied Rufus playfully.

"I'm glad to hear that," said John in the same tone with a smile.

"North Corel isn't too far from here. You should be there in no time," explained Rufus.

"Well then," began John as he extended his hand, "It's been good Rufus."

Rufus waited for a second before reaching his hand out as well and shaking John's.

"It has indeed."

John then got out of the car and started to walk way with his staff in hand. Rufus turned his car around and started to slowly drive away before stopping.

"John!" shouted Rufus.

John stopped and silently turned around.

"Now I want your word as a man! This wasn't the last time! We will have a drink together in the future again!"

And even though he knew there was a large chance that that would not come to pass and that what he had written down would not warn Rufus about his own demise that was on the horizon, a true sense of happiness and hope was heard in John Reeds' voice as he answered.

"I promise Rufus! You have my word as a man!"

With those words, two unexpected friends parted ways to opposing sides of the battlefield.


	35. Chapter XXXV

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Thanks to everyone who's still reading this story. I was surprised to find that 5 people still cared enough to comment on it. Thanks a lot guys! I wrote this one pretty quickly and it came out a bit longer than I thought. Enjoy!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXXV

As Aeris awoke to the sunrise, she saw Cloud standing over her and Cait Sith, looking outward. They had decided to sleep against the wall where they had been left.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

"As well as possible," she answered before turning to Cait Sith, "How about you?"

No response.

"Heavy sleeper I guess," said Cloud as he leaned in to poke the cat.

"Hey hey hey!" was the response, "I'm up now! No need to get physical!"

Cloud sighed before speaking.

"We don't have time for this, we have to find the other and get to the bottom of what's going on."

"Hey look!" said Aeris as she got up and pointed in the distance, "Isn't that Barret?"

"Yeah it is! Let's hurry before he runs off!"

As they ran up to him, they noticed that he was standing over the corpse of man.

"Barret," began Aeris with fear, "Did you-"

"Stay back!" ordered Barret, "There's things that I gotta take care of that don't concern you!"

With those words he started to walk away.

"That's one of your friends?" whispered Cait Sith, "He looks quite dangerous…"

After Barret was a decent distance away, but still visible, Cloud spoke.

"The only thing we can do. Follow him."

But before they took a few steps, they heard a dashing behind them.

"There you are!"

They turned around to see Red with the rest of AVALANCHE running behind them.

"Red! You're safe!" exclaimed Cloud, "We can't lose Barret! Let's go!"

* * *

_Wow, this place is in shambles… _thought John as he walked through North Corel, trying not to make eye contact with the residents, _It's so different seeing it in person…_

He silently made his way through to the Gondola and quietly got on, waiting for the next trip.

* * *

AVALANCHE entered the house to find Barret in the corner, refusing to turn around.

"I heard that the murders at Gold Saucer were done by a man with a gun on his arm," said Red before a short pause, "Was that you?"

Barret shook his head and sighed.

"There was another man who had a gun grafted onto one of his arms. Four years ago…"

As Barret told his story, Tifa's thoughts drifted back to her meeting with Chocobo Joe and what she had learned.

_I wish John was here so we could ask him about that stuff. What could he want with a shovel? What was he doing back there? Was he meeting someone? …should I tell the others?_

When Barret was done with his story, he prepared to head out when Aeris stepped forward.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"I told ya!" yelled Barret, "I have to settle things. This-"

"Isn't our business and we shouldn't get hurt because it doesn't involve us yadda yadda yadda," finished Aeris sarcastically, "That sounds like stuff that Cloud would say. We're your friends Barret and we're coming with you. We know you'd do the same for us."

Barret stood silently for a moment before continuing to walk.

"If there's a fight, remember that Dyne is mine and mine only."

* * *

_Wow, this looks so amazing in person!_

The bright lights and loud sounds of Gold Saucer mesmerized John as he approached it on the gondola. It looked different in the daylight, but the strength of the strobeligths was still seen.

_There's no time for this now though, I've got to get to Dio._

"Excuse me?" he asked as he walked up to the booth, "I need to speak to Dio."

"And who would you be? Admittance is 3000 gil," answered the woman.

"My name is John, a few friends of mine were arrested here for something that they did not do. Please, I need to speak to him!"

"You sure about that?" asked the woman suspiciously, "For all I know, you could be trying to go on the rides for free."

"Ugh, just call him!" exclaimed John, very annoyed, "Please, they're in danger for something that they did not do. You can walk me over to his office by yourself if you don't trust me."

"…I'd rather have security do it," said the woman as she dialed the phone.

* * *

After travelling to the other side of the prison, they reached the edge of a chasm with a man standing there with his back to them. Barret walked forward and took a huge breath.

"Dyne… is that you?"

The man slowly turned around.

"Now there's a voice I haven't heard in years, a voice I'll never forget…"

Dyne pointed his gun-arm at Barret's feet and unleashed a few rounds onto the ground.

"Dyne, what are you doing?"

"You know what?" he asked with the calmness of a deceased one, "I still hear her voice! Eleanor's voice! Begging me not to hate your rotten guts, that's why I didn't hunt you down."

When he stopped shooting, Barret spoke again.

"I knew that the operation was done to another man too and I knew that it had to be you. I was always hoping to meet you again, but not like this… What are you doing Dyne? Killing people who aren't even involved…"

"What does it matter Barret huh?" yelled Dyne, "Do you think the people of Corel would understand?"

Barret stayed silent as Dyne continued his tirade.

"I got nothing left in this world Barret! Corel! Eleanor! Marlene! They're all gone!" yelled Dyne as he continued to shoot above him.

"Dyne! Marlene's still alive!"

"What?" came a surprised question as the shooting stopped.

"I went back into town that day…and that's when I found her. She's in Midgar."

Dyne's stern face suddenly showed a very frightening smile.

"Well then Barret, that means we've gotta fight!"

"What are you talking about Dyne?"

"Eleanor's lonely Barret. I gotta send Marlene to her."

"Dyne!" exclaimed Barret in shock, "You're insane!"

Cloud started to walk forward when Barret extended his arm.

"No! This is my battle! You guys stay out of it!"

Dyne then took a few steps forward.

"How 'bout a special rule as well Barret? We'll do it like in the old days. No materia, just brawn!"

"Heh, I wouldn't have it any other way," replied Barret.

"Shame you won't be doing this for long!" yelled Dyne as he unleashed some rounds.

Barret was quick to duck behind some wreckage to shield himself.

_Ugh, I don't want to kill him, I gotta find a way to get close…._

Barret grabbed a large rock from the ground and threw it towards Dyne, who easily knocked it away with his gun-arm. However, this gave Barret the time to run up and deliver a punch to the stomach. As he tried to land another though Dyne brought his gun-arm up and hit Barret in the jaw, knocking him back. As he was stumbling, Barret received a kick from Dyne that sent him to the group. He looked up to see Dyne charging up his weapon.

"Well Barret!" he yelled as it reached full power, "It's been good!"

Barret quickly rolled away as Dyne unleashed his attack, which sent tiny bullets all into the ground. Due to the power of the attack, he was unable to move before it finished. Barret took this opportunity to deal him a kick to his stomach and then to elbow him back.

"Dyne! We don't have to do this!"

"Yes we do!" screamed Dyne, "For Marlene!"

Dyne prepared to fire again when Barret tacked him to the ground and used his gun arm to hold him down as he hit him the face repeatedly. He then took his gun arm and pointed it straight at his face.

"Dyne, please…"

"Go on… do it…" said Dyne carelessly.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Barret punched Dyne again and stood up.

"Dammit Dyne! Why?"

"Think about it Barret, how old was Marlene then" said Dyne with a slight crack in his voice, "Even if she saw me now, she'd have no clue who I was."

Dyne then started to walk slowly towards the edge of the chasm.

"Besides, these hands are a little too stained to carry Marlene anymore"

"Dyne…"

As Barret reached out his hand, a pendant fell into it, thrown by Dyne.

"That pendant…it belonged to Eleanor, make sure Marlene gets it"

With that Dyne continued his final walk.

"Wow, Marlene's already four…"

"Dyne?"

When Dyne reached the end, he turned around and Barret saw his friend's familiar smile for the first time in years. And with that, he fell backwards into the chasm.

"DYNE!" yelled Barret as he ran towards the edge and fell to his knees.

"It's not fair Dyne! My hands aren't exactly clean either…"

Barret stayed like that silently until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Tifa standing above him.

"Barret… I'm sorry," she said, and he could see in the her eyes that it was genuine.

"Me too Tifa," said Barret as he got up, "Me too."

* * *

As the afternoon got started, Rufus heard the sound of a helicopter and went outside to the front entrance of the Shinra estate.

_Right on time._

He smiled as he saw the leader of the Turks get off and approach him.

"Good to see you Rufus," said Tseng as he shook his hand.

"Likewise. Let's go inside."

The walk was silent until they reached the balcony and Tseng sat down where John had been only the day before.

"How's your break been?"

"It's been very well," said Rufus, "Just being here away from everything gave me a chance to regroup and decide what to do next."

"Which would be?"

"It's difficult for us to follow Sephiroth right now, and our airship is too big to follow him quickly enough."

Tseng listened as Rufus continued.

"Do you remember when I asked you to check up on Cid Highwind?"

"You expect him to make us another airship?" nods Tseng, "Somehow I don't think he's going to do it willingly."

"He doesn't have to make us anything…just hand over what he already has."

"…you mean that tiny plane of his?"

"That 'tiny plane' is exactly what we'll need. Fast, agile. We can travel quickly without getting much attention."

"If you say so Rufus…" said Tseng, "You're the boss."

Rufus smirked as he spoke again.

"I suppose Reeve is happy."

"You mean his success right after Heidegger and Scarlet's blunders? I do not doubt that the least."

"Speaking of Scarlet, shouldn't she be with you guys by now?"

"She's arriving at Costa del Sol later today. I got her a room with Elena."

"Poor Elena, is that the Turk way of hazing?" laughed Rufus.

"Well…unintentionally I suppose…" smirked Tseng.

* * *

"Boy, that's something mighty tall you're saying right there!"

"It's the truth! They're innocent. There's no way any of them would have done anything like that. It was someone else!"

"If they didn't do it, then who did?"

"I-," began John before cutting himself off for a bit, "I don't know, but I can assure you that it wouldn't be any of them. Please, check with the prison to see whether someone escaped up here or no."

"Escaped?" laughed Dio, "Corel Prison is inescapable unless you are let our or you die."

"Please, it couldn't hurt to just make a phone call…"

"Well, if it'll get you out of my hair boy…" said Dio as he picked up the phone and began to dial Mr. Coates' number.

As John listened to Dio talk Mr. Coates, a smile grew on his face.

When he hung up, Dio sighed and looked at John to match his smile.

"Your friends are lucky to have you and I rushed too fast. Looks like there might have been a straggler from the prison up here last night."

* * *

As Mr. Coates put down his phone, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Excuse me, are you in charge here?" asked a blond man with spiky hair.

"Let me guess," said Mr. Coates, "You guys were wrongly put here due to the shootings above."

"How did you know?"

"I just got off the phone with Dio. You have a very persistent friend up there."

_Persistent friend…he must mean…_

"Sooo does that mean we're free?" asked Aeris.

Mr. Coates stood there in silence, thinking when Barret threw something at his feet.

"That belonged to the real attacker. You might now who it was."

As he picked up the object, Mr. Coates knew exactly what had happened.

"If you have this…then Dyne must be dead. He was one of the few who knew how this place operated, and the only one who used guns. He would have had no problem sneaking up I suppose…it's my fault that he did. Did you know him?"

"I did," said Barret, "We were friends a long time ago."

"I'm sorry for your loss then Sir," said Mr. Coates to Barret before handing him the pendant back and turning to the others, "If it were only up to me, you guys could leave now. Dio has been known to act impulsively. I need to check the security videos and take care of the necessary paperwork, but it should all be done tomorrow morning."

"What are we supposed to do till then?" asked Cloud.

"Make yourselves at home. You survived one night, I think you have it in you to get through another."

* * *

As the group gathered in the house, Cloud knew that there were things to talk about. Things that everybody might not be comfortable with sharing with their new teammate right off the bat.

"Who's the new guy?" asked Yuffie.

"His name is Cait Sith," sighed Cloud, "He read us a fortune, and now he has to follow us to see if it comes true."

"Very pleased to meat all of you," the cat said to a rather silent audience, "Wow, lively bunch aren't you?"

"Hey, we should take turns keeping watch so we don't get attacked," said Cloud. "Cait Sith, why don't you start and I'll come out next in a bit?"

"Sure thing guys," replied Cait Sith as he walked back out.

"He seems nice…" sighed Tifa as the found random places to sit down and rest.

A few moments of silence passed before the talking started.

"So…now what?" asked Yuffie.

"Same thing as before," shrugged Cloud, "Go on. Find Sephiroth. Stop him. According to the owner of Gold Saucer, he came around here asking about a Black Materia, there we go."

"You're ignoring things," said Barret, "What about John? Or have you forgotten that he was with Rufus?"

_Oh trust me Barret, I have not forgotten that one bit…_

"What do you expect us to do?" asked Cloud back, "We have no idea where they were. In this time, Rufus could have had him anywhere in the world."

"And for all we know, he could have told him everything about us!"

"Don't say that!" exclaimed Aeris with worry, "How can you guys talk like this? John is one of us."

"Look," spoke up Red before either Cloud or Barret could, "I'm agreeing with Aeris here. I can't explain it, but John is tied in to what is happening more than most of us somehow. And I know that you guys know that as well."

A silence overtook the group before he continued.

"Those voices that you mentioned Cloud, if they are indeed connected to Sephiroth, then John could be in danger, and we have to protect him. For all we know, if Sephiroth finds John, he'll just get stronger. Maybe there's…"

Red then quieted down and looked at the floor.

"What is it Red?" asked Tifa, "Please tell us."

"Look, this is just something I've noticed, and when we meet up with John again, please do not mention this to him alright?"

Receiving nods around the room, he continued.

"When we were at that chocobo ranch and found that material, his eyes were on that spot as they dance and happened to kick it to us. There was no way a human eye would have been able to detect that unless they knew where it was. And back when we were at Junon on the beach, he was looking into the distance before that creature attacked as, almost as if he_ knew_ what was going to happen…"

"Red, what are you saying?" asked Yuffie somewhat jokingly, "That John's the fortune teller now?"

"Only what I saw. And my…discomfort with it. There's something there, I just can't seem to hone in on it."

As another silence overtook the room, Tifa now spoke up.

"Hey…as long as we're talking about John…" she began nervously as all eyes turned to her. "Remember when he took off during the night on that chocobo in Kalm?"

"Well, when I was at Gold Saucer before the guards came to get me, I saw the person who let John borrow that chocobo. It was Chocobo Joe, a famous jockey. I knew that I had recognized him from somewhere that night, but I couldn't exactly remember at the time. Anyways, I talked to him and he said that there was something else that he gave John, something that I failed to see."

"What?" asked Aeris, recalling the night as well.

"A shovel."

"A shovel?" asked Cloud, "What did he want to dig up?"

_This is making no sense at all._

"How do we know he had to dig up?" began Barret, "Maybe he wanted to bury something."

"But what?" asked Aeris.

_John…what are you doing?_

"…I think we need to talk to John," said Red.

"Yeah, but do you think he will?" asked Yuffie.

"Who said he'll have a choice?" asked Barret as he tapped his gun-arm, "I already put one friend in his place today, what's another?"

"Barret!" bolded Tifa, "listen to yourself!"

"Come on Tifa! The guy goes around apparently seeing things before they happen, runs off with a shovel in the middle of the night, has strange voices in his head that seem to be trying to kill him or whatnot, refuses to explain anything, and then he goes off with the President of Shinra. You can't tell me that you're not a little curious about what the hell is going on! I mean, when I asked him what he was about, he said that he was waiting for something to happen! For all we know, it could be for all of us to be dead!"

As Barret breathed heavily, Aeris stepped in.

"Look…if that was what he wanted, he would have just left us in the Shinra building…but he didn't. He risked his life to save us Barret, which includes you! Marlene still has a father because of him! He's getting us out of this place again as well!"

"Are you so quick to trust him?" asked Barret somewhat sarcastically, "You barely know anything about him, like the rest of us."

"Barret," chimed in Red, "Regardless of his…eccentricities, I have never doubted John's heart or dedication to this journey. His part in it is genuine, and I truly believe that he wants the best for us. How he might go about it, I will certainly question, as I will other factors about him, but as far as our wellbeing is concerned…no."

Aeris in the meantime was in her own thoughts, remembering when he came to her cell and the night on the top of Fort Condor.

_He told me he wouldn't leave…and he misses his family. That was genuine! I don't care what Barret thinks! Oh John, I wish I knew more though…_

"Alright now," said Tifa, "We can't continue bickering about one of our own at a time like this. In case you haven't forgotten, we're still in prison for the day, and when we get out, things could be even more dangerous. We've seen how powerful Jenova is, and she's only going to get stronger, and that's not counting Sephiroth himself. We can't beat them if we can't believe that we've got each other's backs."

"Tifa's right," said Cloud, "This thing with John isn't over, but this isn't the time nor place. Sephiroth is moving farther away and we're still here. I'm going to look outside and tell Cait Sith to come inside. So please try to make our new friend welcome and stop building up or tearing down others."

_But which one am I doing? _thought Cloud as he walked out, _Am I being needlessly harsh towards John or am I assuming the better when I have no reason to?_

* * *

At the inn in Costa Del Sol, while the rest of the Turks were waiting for Tseng to return, a knock came on the door where Reno, Rude and later Tseng would be sleeping.

"Wait a sec," whispered Reno as Rude went to open the door, "Give me just a dew more seconds of peace before you do that…"

"Hey! Open up you two! I know you're in there!" came a familiar voice from the other side.

_Oh God… _thought Reno as Rude opened the door and Scarlet walked in, _Still looking like a cheap Midgar hooker…_

"How are you Scarlet?" asked Rude, trying to be civil.

"As well as can be considering everything," she answered before walking over to Reno, "You look delighted to see me Reno."

"As always," replied the redhead smugly.

"Now now, you know that's really no way to talk to your superior."

"Superior?" chuckled Reno, "Let me refresh your mind. I take orders from Tseng, who takes them from Rufus. I don't see you anywhere in that hierarchy."

"And who do you think Rufus listens to for advice?" quipped Scarlet.

"Certainly not you and Heidegger, after all of your failures since he took office."

"Just you wait Reno! You'll see what I have in store!" exclaimed Scarlet angrily as she stormed out to her and Elena's room, slamming the door.

Reno simply looked over at Rude and shrugged.

"Happy times…"

* * *

That night, Cloud was on his watch of the outdoors when he heard someone approaching him.

"Who's that?" he asked as he turned around, sword pointed.

"Hey, calm down," smiled Aeris, "You don't have to be that on edge."

"What are you doing up? You should be getting sleep."

"That's a nice way to say hi to company," answered Aeris as she rolled her eyes, "Besides, I couldn't sleep."

"…you're worried," said Cloud.

"…I guess so. I mean, I was really looking forward to seeing John again, and I still am, but…"

"I know, I'm the same…"

After a bit, Aeris spoke again.

"If he is connected to Sephiroth…or Shinra…"

"Aeris, maybe…nevermind."

"No please, say what's on your mind Cloud. You really don't do that enough."

Cloud gave a light sigh before continuing, looking directly into her eyes.

"Look, maybe I'm stepping on ground where I shouldn't go, but…you should be careful about depending so much on one person. It…usually leaves you disappointed."

Aeris looked back with a smile that seemed to have light melancholy touch to it.

"You're wrong if you think it is just one person.

_What is she talking about? _thought Cloud dumbfounded.

Unfortunately for Cloud, their conversation would have to be cut short by the sound of wheels.

"What the-" began Aeris as Cloud tackled her to the ground.

Getting up they saw that what they had just dodged was a Bullmotor with two Death Claws on top of it that jumped off.

"Good thing that I came out here then eh?" asked Aeris jokingly as the Bullmotor opened its weapons and unleashed a Matra Magic attack.

"Fight now. Talk later."

Cloud extended his arm and fired off a bolt attack, but the Bullmotor was able to dodge it and started to ride towards him.

_Dammit!_

Cloud raised his sword and plunged it into the ground and used The Earth materia in it, making the ground close to them shake and setting the Bullmotor off its path and past him.

_That was close!_

Mean while, the two Death Claws had both gone for Aeris.

_This isn't good, I gotta take them out!_

Aeris quickly extended her Wizard Staff and shot out a fireball, blowing one of them back.

_Alright, now for the oth-_

Before she could finish her thought, Aeris was hit by a Laser attack and sent to the ground on her back. As she hit the ground, her Enemy Skill materia started to glow. Her attacker moved closer and got ready to jump on her

"Aeris!"

Cloud ran in her direction and quickly sliced the Death Claw in half as it was in the air.

"Thanks…" she said as she got up, "Behind you!"

Cloud looked back to see the Bullmotor heading at them at full speed. Before he could act, Aeris reached out her arm and fired off a Laser attack of her own, hitting the Bullmotor square in its armor and blowing it off, making it freeze in its tracks in the process.

"Now Cloud!"

Cloud rushed forward and plunged his sword into its circuits, shutting it down permanently. He did it just in time to dodge the Death Claw that Aeris had knocked back earlier. As it tried to strike again, Cloud blocked it with the Hardedge, leaving Aeris the opportunity to deliver a finishing blow it its back with her staff.

"Alls well that ends well I suppose," said Aeris as she caught her breath.

"You okay?" asked Cloud as he walked over to her.

"Yeah…"

"Hey…"

"Hm?"

"What did you mean? Earlier, about-"

"Shh…" said Aeris as she lightly pressed a finger to his lips, before smiling and slowly starting to walk away.

"Not right now. This isn't the time or place Cloud. But…just don't be to yourself all the time…"

With that the flower girl walked back to the house, leaving Cloud silently by himself.

* * *

While the rest of his teammates were down below, John had been offered a free night at the Ghost Hotel. He accepted it with guilt after Dio strictly forbade him from going down to the prison to be with his friends. As he looked out of the window, he was lost in his thoughts.

_I should see them tomorrow, _he thought, _But what will I say? They no doubt will ask me where I've been. Cait Sith is with them as well, so Shinra has their eye on us. What will they do if they knew that I was with Rufus? Would they…still want me with them?_

He sighed as he lied down on his bed.

_No! There's no way I can't go with them. If I'm not there when the time comes, then Aeris…_

It was then that he recalled his dream at Fort Condor.

_Dammit! If Meteor is summoned and Aeris is still on this side, who will call the Lifestream? Can I save Aeris AND stop the Black Materia from getting to Sephiroth? Can I risk the entire planet for one person, a person who is supposed to save it by dying? Is there no other way?_

Just then, he remembered being with Aeris in Junon just about a week ago.

_"Can you imagine that? Flying over the land and sea on that, feeling the wind…what do you think?"_

_"Yeah…we should."_

_"Really? You mean that?"_

_"Yup. Trust me Aeris, one day we're going to be on that ship, looking down at the world below…you can hold me on that."_

_Aeris…I made you a promise, and I want to keep it. I want to do everything I can to keep it! But if I keep it, will you have much time on that ship?_

In contrast to his peaceful nights at the Shinra estate, John was plagued with his apocalyptic dream once again when he went off to sleep.

* * *

In the morning, AVALANCHE went back to Mr. Coates Office. As they walked in, Cloud noticed a red glow from the corner of the room.

_Hmm…this couldn't be…_

To his surprise, his suspicions were correct and he pocketed the summon materia.

"You guys are free to go, but Dio wants to say something first. He's on speaker," said Mr. Coates.

"Are they there?" came the cheerful voice.

"We're here," said Cloud.

"Boy! Good to hear you again. Listen, you have my apologies for what happened. I hope that the prison wasn't too hard on you and your friends."

"We're still in once piece."

"Hah! That's the spirit boy!"

_Stop calling me boy! _thought Cloud as Tifa and Aeris giggled.

"I felt bad about making your buddy up here scared and giving you guys a hard time, especially with you having to stay an extra day down there. so I decided to give you guys a little present. He should be coming up to you with it now. Happy travels!" said Dio.

"Wait!" began Cloud before Dio could hang up, "That guy who talked to you, asking about the Black Materia. Do you know where he went?"

"Oh, trying to find the popular crowd, eh boy?" smirked Dio on the other end, "My guess is that he would have gone further west towards Gongaga and beyond. There's really nothing else to do for travelers."

_Beyond…is he going back to Nibelheim?_

With that, Dio signed off and the present members of AVALANCHE were left staring at each other.

"This friend…why are they not travelling with you right now?" asked Cait Sith.

"Well…" said Barret with a cold tone, "He went off for a bit on his own and said he'd be back."

"Oh, where did he go?"

There was no answer as Cloud started to walk, with Cait Sith realizing that now was not the best time for more questions.

"Look, we don't even know who this is. If it's John, then we just saved a lot of time."

_It better be him, and he has some serious explaining to do…_

The others followed behind him as they left the building and went outside. Aeris walked up to Cloud and spoke in a low voice.

"Hey, if it is John, don't cause a scene."

"…don't worry Aeris," said Cloud, "First things first, we have to get back to safe grounds."

As the team reached the edge of the desert prison, they saw a red buggy waiting for them. As they approached, the top rose to reveal a familiar face with a familiar smile.

"Hey guys! How've you been?"


	36. Chapter XXXVI

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Wow, I can't believe how many reviews the last chapter got. Thanks a lot guys! Hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXXVI

That night AVALANCHE sat around the fire quietly after their meal with tension in the air. Cait Sith had gone to sleep in his tent and seemed to have shut off.

"I like the new guy, he seems really nice," said John, "I think it's kinda weird how he doesn't need food, but it'll be really great to have extra firepower on our side if we have to go up against Sephiroth or the Shinra again soon."

John's mention of the Shinra only seemed to tighten the atmosphere.

_This is ridiculous, _thought Barret.

"So John, we didn't really get to talking much today…" he began calmly.

"I know I'm sorry," said John, "It's really good to see you guys again."

"You gave us quite a scare on that ship," said Tifa.

"Did I?" asked John faux-dumbfounded, "I'm sorry if you were worried Tifa. I'm alright now."

_Worried? I had to knock you out to keep us safe!_

Knowing where they wanted to steer the conversation, John tried to take the reins.

"How have you guys been? I really wish I could have seen Costa del Sol with you guys. I've heard it's a really great place."

"Indeed," said Red, "Tell us John. Why couldn't you do that?"

"Oh you know, I couldn't be here unfortunately. I had to go somewhere. It was really urgent."

"And where could that be?" asked Barret.

"Oh, just a place around," answered John a bit nervously, "Nothing really worthwhile."

"Actually, I insist that-"

"You know, I'm feeling really tired guys," said John very quickly as he got up, "I had to get up really early today so Dio could take me to the buggy. I think I'll turn in early, so I can be ready if we have to fight tomorrow."

Barret was about to stand up in frustration visible to everyone when Cloud spoke up.

"Alright John, go to bed," he said coldly.

"But-" began Barret.

"Barret it's alright," continued Cloud, "John needs his rest, he is right."

John nodded at Cloud in thanks, who refused to give eye contact, before silently walking off to their tent with his shoulders low.

"Cloud, what were you thinking?" hissed Barret in anger.

"Not tonight Barret," sighed Cloud, "Please."

_What should I do? Damn you John!_

After some silence, Cloud turned to the person next to him, the one who had said nothing all night.

"Hey, are you alright?" he whispered to Aeris, "You're usually chatting to everyone."

"Yeah, just thinking…" she murmured.

_I couldn't say a word. He came back, like he said he would, I should be happy! But I can't shake the feeling that things are bad…and I don't know what to do about it…_

Slowly, the members of AVALANCHE went off to bed, until it was just Cloud and Aeris left.

"Thanks," she said.

"For what?"

She looked at him and smiled.

"For checking up on me."

"You're welcome."

After a bit, Cloud spoke again.

"So do you want to be the one to catch John up on the specifics of what's happened since he left or should I?"

Aeris gave a light chuckle with a hint of sadness.

"I'll do it. I haven't said anything to him today, I feel bad."

"…"

"I mean, I wanted to talk to him, I really did, but…"

"It's ok," said Cloud, "I understand."

"I think I'll be off to bed now," said Aeris as she got up, "One night of little sleep when you're on the road is one thing. I don't really want another one…"

"Yeah, you're right," said Cloud as he put the fire out, "Good night Aeris."

"Good night Cloud," she said as she went into hers and Tifa's tent.

Looking up at the stars one last time, Cloud went to his and John's tent and got in. He looked at John's form sternly before speaking.

"I know you're awake, so don't pretend."

John slowly raised his body to meet Cloud's glowing icy gaze.

"Cloud, I-"

"No," said Cloud simply as he changed and got ready, "You want to talk. You talk with the whole group."

John tried to protest before he realized it wouldn't be the best idea as Cloud continued.

"All of us risk our lives every day and when one of us just ups and leaves without saying anything and then tries to waltz back in like nothing happened…well it's a bit insulting. Good night John."

John looked to the side for a few moments before sighing through his nose and turning in.

"Good night Cloud."

* * *

John was awoken with a sharp punch to his shoulder. He jolted up to see Cloud, fully dressed in his SOLDIER uniform.

"Get up!" he ordered.

"What's going on? Are we getting attacked?" asked John, confused about what was happening.

"It's time to train. It would be a shame if all our work had gone away while you were off to wherever. It's time to start again. Be outside in five minutes, no excuses."

With that Cloud stepped outside, leaving John scrambling to get dressed and come outside with his weapons.

"Leave the staff. We're working on that sword today."

Rushing further, John ran up to stand across from Cloud with his sword.

"Ready?" asked Cloud calmly.

"I think so…"

"Well," said Cloud before erupting into a yell, "You better be!"

With that Cloud rushed at John and delivered a simple, but strong slash that made John feel pain in his arms when he blocked. Cloud's SOLDIER strength was shown in every blow he gave as John's energy deteriorated.

"Hey, you wanna lighten it up a bit Cloud?"

"I'm afraid the enemy won't to that if you ask them John," said Cloud as he delivered an upward slash that made John's hands go up as he blocked it, leaving his torso open.

Cloud gave a strong, fast kick into John's stomach, sending him flat on his back to the ground.

John tried to rise only to find the Force Stealer on his neck.

"You can't talk yourself out every situation, and if this is the best defense you can mount, you can forget about walking out alive, never mind victorious from a battle with Sephiroth or Jenova."

Both John and Cloud breathed heavily before Cloud took his sword off of John's neck.

"At least you remembered to never let go of your weapon, so there may be hope for you yet."

"Get up," he continued as he got back to his original position.

Just as John got up he saw Cloud fire a lightning bolt at him, which he barely managed to dodge.

"I didn't know we were using magic!" yelled John.

"You think the enemy cares about that? If they've got materia on them, they won't hesitate to use it against you!" answered Cloud as he rushed again.

It didn't take long for Cloud and John's training session to wake everyone from AVALANCHE up.

"What's going on?" mumbled Aeris as she looked out.

She could only sigh in disappointment at what she saw.

"What is it?" asked Tifa as the sunlight hit her eyes.

"Well, there's a chance that we'll never find anything more about John, because Cloud is going to tire him out to death."

"I guess that's the cue to start breakfast then," said Tifa, "It's my turn this morning."

"I'll help you out, it's not like I'm going back to sleep."

By the time they were done, the rest of the team was up and ready, also awoken by Cloud and John.

"Hey, breakfast is ready guys," said Aeris loudly, hoping that it would get through to them.

When they seemed unfazed, she sighed.

"Can I have theirs if they don't come?" asked Yuffie.

Instead of answering her, Aeris walked closer to Cloud and John and took a deep breath.

"HEY! IF YOU PLAN ON KILLING EACH OTHER, COULD YOU AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL US IN ADVANCE TO NOT WASTE FOOD!"

That was enough to stop them as they breathed heavily.

"Sorry 'bout that," said Cloud simply before walking to the others.

John stood leaning on his staff, out of breath and near collapse. He sat down for a few minutes to catch his breath.

_That was…really rough…_

Aeris approached him and looked into his eyes, seeing worry and frustration, but most of all fatigue.

"So much for you being rested up," she said as she extended her hand and cast a White Wind spell.

"Thankfully," she continued and her hand stayed outstretched, "I'm just feeling dandy today, so you should be a bit better now."

John silently looked back into her emerald eyes for a few seconds before taking her hand and getting up.

"Thanks Aeris."

As he started to walk back, she ran up to him again and spoke in a quieter voice.

"Hey look, I'm sorry if I'm coming off a bit cold."

"Like Cloud?" smiled John.

"Hehe, I guess you could say that," giggled Aeris, "I really missed you. We all did. It's just…a bit hard to show for some."

_Some? More like everyone… _thought John sadly to himself.

"It's okay," said John, "Don't worry."

"Hey, how about Cloud drives today and you sit in the back with me and I'll catch you up on what we've seen."

"I'd like that very much."

* * *

Later that day, as AVALANCHE was taking a break, Aeris walked up to Cloud, who was further off from the others, staring into the distance.

"Hey."

"Hey," he replied, "Sorry for waking you up this morning."

"It's alright," she said, "Somehow I have a feeling it won't be the last time."

"You'd be right," said Cloud after a pause, "He's gotten rusty. Whatever he was doing with Rufus wherever, I highly doubt he has fighting to get back to us."

"Cloud…don't be so tough," she said rather uncomfortably, "Nearly killing him isn't going to make things better."

"It makes me feel a bit better," said Cloud smugly.

_Wow, I just sounded like an ass._

"Does it?" asked Aeris.

"Yeah, I vent my frustration…and prepare him for when he goes up against Sephiroth. Which will happen, whether I want it to or not."

"I see," said Aeris as she turned around and stared to walk, "I think I understand."

"Hey," said Cloud as she was walking,

"Hm?"

"You wanna take care of your training in the evening?" he asked.

"Yeah sure," she said with a nod and smile.

* * *

"Why are we doing this at night again?" asked Scarlet, referring to her and the Turks travelling in the darkness of the night by helicopter to Gongaga.

"Reeve says that they'll be in Gongaga tomorrow," said Tseng, "If we land there, it'll be a good spot to start following them."

"I want to see how they've improved their fighting skills," said Reno, "I also wanna get that guy back for my hand."

"Reno…" mumbled Tseng.

"I agree with him," said Rude, "We will likely have to fight these guys at some point anyway. So we should use this opportunity to gauge their abilities."

"Alright now we're talking!" exclaimed Reno, "Time for a good old-fashion ass-kicking!"

"While you two will be acting like brats," said Scarlet, "Tseng and I will checkout the remnants of the reactor there."

"That's your weapon? Reactor scraps?" laughed Reno, "Someone seems to be holding onto their job by its strings."

"You fool!" exclaimed Scarlet, "It's not the structure, it's the remnants of the mako that was focused in the reactor."

* * *

The previous evening and the following morning had set the pattern for AVALANCHE for the next few days, with John always going to bed right after dinner to avoid confrontation and with Cloud waking him up at seemingly brutal hours the next morning. This particular one though, was going to take a different turn as a sight approached them.

"Hey, I think I see something!" exclaimed John, "I think it's a reactor.

Cloud looked up to see their destination. A reactor rising out of the middle of a forest.

"That's Gongaga alright. I've never seen it in person before, but there's a reactor there and it's located in the middle of a forest. This fits the bill."

"You want me to try to drive this into the forest?" asked John.

"No, I'd like to avoid that now. If there's a reactor, then there might be Shinra. I'd rather try and not make too much noise on our way in."

"Guess it's on foot from here then," said Tifa.

"We should make sure we're ready for a fight," said Cloud, "There could be Shinra soldiers here."

John decided to use his Mythril Saber instead of his staff for the upcoming battle, so he moved his Ice material to his Mythril Armlet and transferred the remaining ones to the sword.

* * *

"Hey, Reeve says they're getting closer," said Tseng.

"Finally," said Reno, "Payback time!"

"Can you try to not cause too much of a ruckus?" asked Tseng.

"We won't fight where there are civilians. Is that good enough?" replied Reno sarcastically.

"Are we even sure they're coming here?" asked Elena, "What if Reeve's information was wrong?"

"In that case," said Tseng, "Why don't you sneak around the entrance and try to confirm that. If you find them, do not initiate combat, Reno and Rude can handle themselves. Just report back to me."

* * *

AVALANCHE was navigating through the forest when they heard talking in front of them.

"Shh…let's stop," whispered Cloud as they slowly walked a bit further and listened in.

_It's the Turks! _exclaimed Cloud in his mind, _Why are they here?_

"What are you so embarrassed about?" asked Reno slyly, "come on, tell me who you like."

Rude shuffled his feet uncomfortably before answering.

"…Tifa."

"Really?" asked Reno in surprise, "But poor Elena…"

"No, Elena likes Tseng."

"But Tseng's really got it for that Ancient…"

_What are they talking about? _thought Cloud as he looked over at Aeris to see her shaking her head.

They heard a rustling behind them as a figure tripped out of the bushes onto her face.

"Ugh! Can't believe I tripped on a branch. Some Turk I am!"

As the woman raised her head, her eyes met Cloud's.

_This isn't going to be pretty…_ thought Cloud.

Elena was quick to jump onto her feet and rush to where Reno and Rude were standing.

"Tbey're here! They're really here!" she yelled.

"It's time then," said Reno as he held his weapon, "Calm down Elena and go an d inform Tseng."

"R-right," she said before running off in the direction of the reactor.

Once she was out of the way, Reno and Rude approached AVALANCHE.

"Rude, don't go easy on them, even though they're girls.

Rude nodded as Aeris scowled.

"You're going to make up for what you did in Sector 7," said Reno as he extended his rod to point at John.

"Gimme a break…" said John as he held up his sword, trying to act smug.

This made Reno very angry.

"Time for payback!"

Reno shot a blast at John that he managed to dodge, only to be kicked in the stomach. He was quick to jump up as Reno continued the offensive, attempting to hit John with his weapon but being narrowly blocked each time.

_Whoa! Good thing Cloud has been on my ass…_

As John was blocking Reno's attacks, Aeris extended her staff and launched a bolt attack, hitting him from the side and sending him to the ground. Reno was quick to get back up to see Red rushing at him, ready to pounce.

_Don't think so furry!_

Reno extended his new weapon and launched a blast from the tip, hitting Red square in the face and sending him flying back.

"Red! Hold on!" yelled John as he rushed over and cast a cure spell on him.

Meanwhile, Tifa had launched an attack on Rude, who blocked every one of the punches and kicks. She tried to deliver a roundhouse kick, but found herself immobile as Rude grabbed her leg and tripped her. He was about to punch her as she lay down but Cait Sith jumped in and landed a punch of his own on Rude, who flipped back afterwards.

_Reeve's toy packs quite a punch._

"How do you like that huh?" yelled the cat as Tifa got back up.

_I think Reeve might be getting a bit cocky. Well, if he wants to make his act better…_

With that, Rude powered up a Grand Spark attack and punched ground. The energy shook the ground as it moved towards Cait Sith.

"Look out!" yelled Cloud.

But it was too late; the attack reached Cait Sith's feet and exploded, sending him and Tifa to their backs. During this, Barret rushed towards Reno and got ready to fire.

_Time to put this guy out of commission for good… _he thought as he pointed his gun-arm at Reno.

_Heh heh, how dumb do you think I am?_

Reno was quick to jump and fire off a blast from his rod that hit Barret's gun arm directly and short circuited it.

"Dammit!" yelled Barret as his nerve endings burned.

Reno used this opportunity to jump up and kick Barret in the chest, while firing off blasts at Cloud to keep him at bay from helping.

"Barret!" yelled Yuffie as she threw her shrunken at Reno.

"I don't think so," said Reno as he charged an Electro pod attack and forcefully swung his rod, knocking Yuffie's weapon away, before charging at her and delivering another electric attack to her body and kicking her back.

Aeris extended her arm towards Rude and launched a Laser attack from her Enemy Skill Materia. Unfortunately for her, Rude powered another Grand Spark attack, but this time instead of sending it through the ground, he sent it through the air and hit her attack head on, cancelling it out in a blast.

_No way…he blocked that?_

Aeris didn't have time to plan another attack as Rude quickly emerged dashing from the smoke and landed a punch straight in her stomach, making her lose her breath and move to the ground as she slumped over in pain. As she struggled to make a sound and slowly lost consciousness, Rude knelt down and whispered in her ear.

"I do apologize for that, but after all, war is war."

"Get away from her!" yelled Cloud as he charged a Blade Beam attack and launched it at Rude.

Rude extended his arm and launched a Fire spell at Cloud's attack, but it was not enough to fully dissipate it and he was hit square in the chest. Cloud rushed forward and tried to deliver a fatal stab, but Rude managed to jump away.

"Hang on Aeris," said Cloud as he knelt and poured a Phoenix Down into her mouth, the bitter taste bringing her back to consciousness.

John in the meantime was firing Ice particles at Reno, who kept shooting them down.

"I can't keep this up forever Cloud!" he yelled.

_We've got to end this…_ thought Cloud, before he remembered the materia that he had found earlier.

He reached into his pocket a pulled out the red sphere.

"Cloud is that-" began Aeris.

"Just stand back Aeris," he said.

_Let's try this thing out…_

With that, Cloud raised his new summon material into the air and concentrated. It started to emanated electric energy and launched a massive blast into the ground, leaving a blinding light.

_What the…? _thought Reno as he blocked his eyes while John rushed away.

As the light died down, everyone looked to see an old man in white robes with a very large beard on the field. Ramuh raised his staff, which was giving off sparks and pointed it at Reno and Rude.

_Uh oh!_

"Reno, get out of the way!" yelled Rude as he jumped.

Reno followed his lead as they jumped into the woods and retreated as Ramuh launched lighting bolts at where they had been standing just a moment ago before disappearing in another flash of light. The team stood silent where they were before moving towards each other.

_How did they know where we were? _Thought Cloud as he spoke the words.

"There's no way they've been following us that close," said Tifa, "We would have seen them."

"Never underestimate the Shinra," said Aeris, "They always manage to be sneakier than you expect."

"But still…how did they know we were heading to Gongaga? And today of all days?"

"Perhaps they have a feed…" said Red.

"You mean a spy?" exclaimed Yuffie.

"I don't want to think about that," said Tifa

Cloud nodded in agreement.

"I trust everyone."

"No!" yelled Barret to everyone's surprise, pointing at John.

"I find it a little too coincidental that this guy runs off with Rufus, comes back and then it seems that Shinra knows where we were going."

John's expression suddenly turned into one of shock.

"Y-you knew?"

_This can't happen, not now…_

"Of course we knew! What do ya think? You're invisible or something? People saw you! And all we had to do was ask!"

"Barret, what are you saying?" asked Tifa.

"I'm saying that if there's a spy, it's probably this guy!"

"Barret-" began John.

"What? Are you going to try to talk your way out of admitting what you've done again? Well I won't have it!"

"John…" said Red calmly, "You make it very difficult to defend you. Especially the more that we know."

"The more you know…what?" asked John with a frightened tone in his voice.

"Cloud told us about what's been happening to you John. With your voices and the headaches," said Tifa with a tinge of guilt, "There was no way of hiding it anymore. We saw it on the ship. We were worried about you."

"That's isn't even what I'm talking about Tifa," said Barret, "I'm more concerned with what you saw and what that chocobo jockey told you about Kalm."

_They know about Kalm as well?_

"There's something very suspicious about riding off in the middle of the night with a shovel," said Red.

"For all we know, he could have been riding back to Midgar to see Rufus to give a report," added Barret.

Throughout all this, Cloud and Aeris were staying silent, neither really knowing how to handle the situation. Both of them had waited for some sort of confrontation with John about the truth, but neither of them wanted it to be this aggressive or intrusive. Which made it all the more difficult for Cloud when John looked to him for support.

"I told you John," he said simply, "If you have something to say, say it to all of us."

"I-" started John before cutting himself off, not knowing how to proceed.

He could feel the eyes around him, all waiting for an answer.

_No no no! This can't happen like this. It's too soon, I don't even know what to tell them!_

"…I need to go for a walk, by myself."

With that, John turned around and walked off into the woods, his heart pounding in his chest, knowing that when he returned, he would have to reveal a part of him to them.

_John…_ thought Aeris, _Don't walk away, please…_


	37. Chapter XXXVII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Well, without much fanfare, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it and are having happy holidays.

* * *

**Testing Fate**

Chapter XXXVII

A few minutes after John had walked off, AVALANCHE was still standing in the same spot where they had been earlier, not knowing how to proceed. Aeris was leaning against a tree as she drank her second potion to recover as much as she could from Rude's attack.

"I don't think it was wise to allow him to leave by himself-" started Red.

"Well what else were we supposed to do?" asked Tifa, "Tackle him to the ground and tie him up?"

"It may have been safer, we're not alone here…" was the reply.

Cloud in the meanwhile, stood with his arms crossed, looking at the ground with a hard stare before speaking, his mouth and mind going in different directions.

"We have to move forward to the reactor," said Cloud, "There could be people there."

_Ugh, this isn't the time to split up! We could be surrounded for all we know!_

"No!" exclaimed a voice as all heads turned on her.

"I'm going after him," said Aeris.

"Aeris," said Red, "There might be more Shinra people around, it's best that we stick together."

"Well it's too late for that," snapped Aeris, "John went off by himself so they could have gotten to him by now. Besides, it's more likely they went to the reactor. That's where Elena went to meet Tseng. You guys should head there and see what you can find out. Leave John to me."

With those words, Aeris ran off before anyone could reply in the direction that John had gone in.

_Or John might have gone to them… _thought Barret.

"Cloud, shouldn't we go after her?" asked Tifa, worried.

Cloud waited a second before he responded, his teeth grit in frustration.

"No," he sighed, "The monsters we've been running into around here aren't that strong, they can handle themselves. Let's find Tseng and Elena."

_I'm more worried about what's going to happen once this is done with…_

"Cloud," began Barret, "If he is with the Shinra-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Barret!" exploded Cloud, his face red from anger.

He stepped forward to the path leading into Gongaga before turning around to face what remained of AVALANCHE.

"I'm sick of this! What don't you guys understand? The Shinra are here! Tseng is here! We're in danger! In times like these, there's no choice but to trust those who stand next to us. If we don't do that, we're going to die! I'm not going to have our team point fingers at one another, not when we need to stand together!" he exclaimed loudly, "We're going to trust John and Aeris to get back to us because that's the only thing we can do, and we owe it to them to believe that! Just like they owe it to us to come back! Up until this point, we've all had each other's backs in battle and I expect that to continue! Our survival depends on it! We will talk about whatever the hell is going on with John at that time! Before then, we have people who we know are our enemies around us that are what we should be concentrating on right now! I'm going ahead, and if you still consider yourself to be a part of this team, then you're coming with me."

With those words, Cloud started to walk towards the village. Slowly, each of the AVALANCHE members started to silently walk in the same direction to catch up.

_What an interesting bunch of people, I never thought they'd be this amusing…_ thought Reeve behind his controller.

* * *

Away from Gongaga, two figures walked across the rocky ground as the sun beat down on them. In the distance, they saw what looked like a town at the base of a mountain.

"What is that?" asked Jenova.

"That must be Cosmo Canyon," smiled Sephiroth.

"Fond memories?"

"I was there once in my real body, before the war. Me and some soldiers stopped there for good luck before we went off to Wutai."

"Do you suppose that we should stop there then?" asked Jenova humorously.

"Heh, why waste our time?" chuckled Sephiroth, "Especially since we have others doing all our work for us…"

* * *

As AVALANCHE walked through the town, the sights around them were horrifying. Most signs of prosperous livelihood were nowhere to be found. All they could see were tiny houses surrounded by damaged trees.

"What happened here?" asked Yuffie to no one in particular.

"The Shinra happened, that's what," answered Barret with a sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"I heard that there was an explosion at the reactor here. A lot of people worked there, and most of them died. The Shinra didn't give any sort of compensation to the townspeople and just left them here to rot away."

"That's terrible," said Tifa, "I remember I came here with my dad once when I was a kid…it looked nothing like this."

"You're from around here Tifa?" asked Cait Sith as they started on the road to the reactor.

"Not quite," she replied, "Cloud and mine's hometown was a bit more to the west past the mountain region, but my dad traveled every now and then and sometimes he took me on trips."

"I'm still not sure whether we should have left John and Aeris back there," said Yuffie, "Reno and Rude might still be around."

"John walked off in a different direction than Reno and Rude, they should be fine for a little bit," said Red.

_I'm more concerned that we're going into where we know Shinra's going to be without our full force, _thought Cloud, _Although with John lately, that might exactly be for the worse…_

"What do you think they're here for?" asked Tifa, "When Elena ran off, it seemed that there was more to them being here than just us."

"I'm guessing they might be looking for materia," said Cloud.

"Materia?" exclaimed Yuffie.

"When Mako Energy is condensed, materia is created. If the reactor went haywire, there were likely random Mako compressions that occurred during the process. Some of this could have led to the creation of abnormal types of materia, materia that is more powerful than what you normally find. They could be trying to harness that power. It's just a hunch though,"

"Oh, I see," said Yuffie with a grin.

As they entered what remained of the reactor, Cloud suddenly stopped.

"Hey, quiet down," he whispered loudly, "get in the corner. Shh…"

Heading his orders, AVALANCHE listened as the sound of an approaching helicopter got louder.

* * *

In the middle of the forest, John sat alone on a rock, his knees to his chest.

_This can't be happening! Not now, it's too soon! They can't know! What am I going to say?_

He ran his hand through his hair as he looked up and thought back to the time he spent at the Shinra retreat home.

_I could talk to Rufus about it, but I didn't tell him most things. And Barret won't stand for anything like that… I didn't know that they knew about what I did back in Kalm…or at least what they think I did… But I can't tell them that I buried Zack…not now… Heh, how funny that this happens in his hometown?_

He heard footsteps approach him from behind as he turned his head around, expecting an enemy.

_Aeris…_

He didn't say anything as he lowered his legs and sat looking at the ground as the flower girl walked up to him.

"John…" she began, but failing to get him to look at her again, she switched gears, "…may I sit down?"

"Be my guest," was the quiet reply as Aeris sat to join him in looking down.

Silences passed by before one of them could muster up the strength to speak.

"John, I want to help you…" began Aeris as her voice slightly cracked, "but you're making it so hard."

"…I'm sorry Aeris…I don't know what to say," was the simple reply.

"How about saying what you haven't been saying? Some of which we already know?"

"Aeris-" John tried to begin.

"No!" she interrupted, "You listen to me!"

John was taken aback by how forceful she was. She stood up before continuing.

"We shouldn't have found out about what's going on with you like that! We were worried about you! And then you upped and left, do you know how frightened we were? How frightened I was?"

"I-"

"We were worried that you might never come back! I thought I lost you! Do you have any idea how that felt?" she yelled, her voice cracking from strain, "We all want to help you, but we don't know how because you're not telling us."

"Aeris…" John tried to begin as he failed to find words and just stood, breathing heavily before continuing.

"…I'm afraid too.'

Aeris stayed silent as she looked at John.

"I don't know what's happening to me. Sometimes I think I might be going crazy, or that something's trying to get into me. How can I tell you anything when I don't know what to tell myself? I don't know what to do Aeris."

Aeris stepped forward and stretched out her hand.

"Then don't try to do it alone. We're all here for you and we want to help you."

"When we were in Midgar, you said that you didn't know if you could understand what I was going through, but you would listen. You've done that and so much more for me, and you don't even realize it. Everyone has," said Aeris as she was nearing out of breath, "Let us do the same for you. Let me do the same for you. This time, I don't know if I can understand, but I'll listen. I want to listen."

John had no words to counter her and could only look into the warmth of her eyes, seeing that she indeed was trying to help him, despite everything that he had done by leaving. Sighing, he took her hand and got up. Looking at her more, he couldn't held but give a weak smile.

_Id you only knew what I'm trying to for you…_

"Let's go back," he said.

"That sounds like a good idea," smiled Aeris.

However, as she turned around and started to leave, he stood in place, causing her to wonder what was wrong.

"Hm?" she asked, facing him again.

"I'm curious, why are you so sure that I'm not with the Shinra? It's not like you have any proof either than my word. What makes you so confident that I'm not a bad guy?"

Aeris looked to the side, blinking her eyes as she stared into the distance.

"Because…you kept your promise."

"What?" asked John, slightly confused.

"Back in the Shinra building. You said you'd come back when you were outside my cell. And you did. You left again after the ship, but you came back now too," she said softly before looking back at John and continuing.

"Trust me, not everyone does that," she finished in a bitter tone.

As John looked at her, he couldn't help but feel bad, not only for reasons that she knew, but also for reasons that only he knew.

* * *

Tseng and Scarlet stepped out of the helicopter and walked towards what used to be the center of the reactor.

"We probably should have waited until we could have picked Reno and Rude up and come here altogether. They're close you know," said Tseng.

"Hm? Are you saying that you and Elena couldn't handle them?" smirked Scarlet, "You're actually admitting that there is a weakness to you and your friends?"

"You know what I'm talking about," replied Tseng in an annoyed tone, "There's only one of me, and Elena's new, we might not be able to keep an eye on you…"

"Well then, let's be quick with our business then, I just need to check something."

They were silent as they walked toward what looked to have been the rector core at one point. There was an opening that appeared to have been torn from the inside out by a release of energy. Scarlet walked forward and peered inside, only to look back at Tseng with disappointment.

"This one's no good either. But what can I expect? You only get junky materia from junky reactors."

"That's it?" asked Tseng, surprised, "You already know?"

"If there had been a huge materia made from the abnormal amount of energy that was concentrated when the reactor failed, it would have been in there, but it's just trash. Let's leave before those people arrive, since you're so sure that they'd pose a problem."

Tseng nodded as they turned around and walked back to the helicopter to meet Elena.

"Good news?" she asked.

Tseng simply shook his head.

"Let's go pick up Reno and Rude and get out of here. There's nothing left to do here."

As Tseng and Scarlet boarded and flew off, one thought kept racing through Tseng's mind.

_Reno and Rude said that the battle was over far quicker than I thought, was it because they got bored and decided to leave, or could it mean that Aeris' friends are stronger than we originally thought?_

* * *

"What was that about?" asked Tifa as they emerged from their hiding spot.

"I guess they didn't find what they were looking for," said Cloud as they walked up to where Tseng and Scarlet had been.

"Who was that woman?" asked Yuffie, "Is she with the Shinra too?"

"Yeah," answered Cloud, "That's Scarlet, she's head of Shinra Weapon Development. All the machines we've fought up to now from Shinra; she's the one who's in charge of their creation."

"Barret, is there anything there?" asked Red as Barret looked inside the chamber.

He stuck his hand in and pulled out a red materia.

"It may be junk for them, but maybe we can find it useful," he said as he pocketed it, "At least we won't say we got nothing nice out of today."

"You're suddenly in a cheery mood," observed Cloud as they turned around and started to walk back towards the village.

"I'm "cheery" because we're finally going to get information out of John I hope."

"Do you think they're alright?" asked Cait Sith, trying to slot himself into the conversation.

"When Tseng was speaking, it didn't sound like they'd found them," said Tifa, "Let's just hope that is true."

As they walked back into the village, their hoped were concerned as they saw Aeris and John coming from the other entrance, John looking down at the ground as he walked.

"You're alright!" exclaimed Yuffie with delight.

"Don't worry about us," said Aeris in an uncharacteristically somber voice, dreading what was about to happen.

"So?" said Cloud simply as he walked up to John, forcing him to look him in the eye with his presence.

John took a deep breath before trying to smile and answer.

"Let's talk."

* * *

"So what was the point of that whole trip?" asked Reno, "We didn't get anything done."

"Hm? I thought you were the one who couldn't wait to fight AVALANCHE again," said Tseng with a smirk on his face, "Has your tone suddenly changed since you lost? And all because of a lousy Summon Materia?"

"Watch it Tseng!" exclaimed Reno, "We were meant to just see how strong they were."

"Is that why you ran from the field at their call?" laughed Scarlet.

"Watch it Scarlet!" warned Reno.

"That's enough, both of you," said Tseng, "The purpose of your fight was not to destroy them and you knew that going in. You were to see how far they've progressed in their fighting abilities. Who wants to give the report?"

Reno just shrugged.

"They're good," said Rude simply, "Much better than we expected."

"C'mon," scoffed Reno, "You can't give them that much credit man."

"You know that I'm right Reno. Yes, we didn't expect them to have acquired Summon Materia, and that is our fault. But it is more than that, their skills are rapidly improving, and not only in terms of physical fighting skill."

"What do you mean?" asked Elena.

"That Ancient girl fired an attack at me, and it took all of my training with the Grand Spark skill to dissipate it, I knocked her out immediately afterwards because I don't think I would have been able to block another attack from her. And she didn't seem to be tired out from delivering it at all. They also work really well as a team. Whenever it seemed like we had one of them on the ground, another would jump in to defend them at once."

"Are you saying that they're stronger than you four?" smirked Scarlet, "Maybe Rufus should just take you off their tracks and put someone more capable on it."

"Shut up Scarlet!" ordered Tseng, "Rude, please continue."

"If all four of us were to face them right now…I'd say we would win quite easily with our combined powers," said Rude, "But I cannot say for how long that is going to be true. They are not to be underestimated."

A period of silence passed before Elena spoke.

"What do we do now, are we gonna head back to Gongaga to get on their trail again soon?"

"There's no need for that," replied Tseng, "Thanks to Reeve, we know we know wherever they are, so we don't have to go back to square one. Besides, if they're heading west, they have to go by Cosmo Canyon. When they're approaching, we'll land nearby and start following them there. As for now, let's head back to Costa Del Sol and see Scarlet off."

_About time…_ thought Reno.

* * *

AVALANCHE took a seat on some rocks to the side of the village, far away enough so that nobody could hear their conversation. John was unknowingly clasping his hands together in anxiousness, knowing that his future with the group lay in balance.

_I can't let it happen that they leave me behind, I just can't…_

He looked around him to see his teammates, the ones he considered his allies and friends here, or at least, that's what he wanted to think.

"Your move," said Cloud simply.

"So...what do you guys want to know?" asked John.

"Tell us about these voices," said Red, "Cloud has told us some things, but I believe that we would all prefer to hear about them from you."

John sighed and looked down at his hands before raising his head and speaking.

_I gotta make sure I tell this the correct way…_

"It…started back in Midgar. After Aeris was taken and we were at her house. I was taking a walk around and walked into the church and that's where it started. At first it just sounded like a bunch of mumbling, but it was a lot of them. I don't know how to describe it. As it happened more and more, on the fields, in the Mythril Mines, on the ship, they got louder. And then there was one specific one that is just over the others and that one is the most painful. It's different, I don't know how else to explain it. When we were on the ship, I thought my head was going to split into two. That's the only thing I know…"

_It started at my church; I don't get it…_ thought Aeris.

"But why are you linking this with Sephiroth?" she asked.

"When he was at the Shinra building and about to leave, he turned around and looked at me through the window. Not in my direction, but at me. I don't know how to explain it, but ever since then I've been convinced that he's the key to what's happening with me. Especially after the ship, it happened right after we fought Jenova."

"Is this what you meant when you told me that you were trying to find something out?" asked Barret.

"Yeah, and when I said I was waiting, it's what would happen when I finally confronted Sephiroth and found the truth out. I thought I might reach a conclusion on the ship, but then everything happened. If you guys hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done."

_Well, that was a clear lie, _thought John in the back of his head, _but as long as it can get them off my back a bit, it has to be worth it…_

"Then why did you end up leaving with Rufus?" asked Barret bluntly, "and from what I've gathered. You left on your own accord, it's not like he was holding a gun to your head."

…_Or they just might ask more questions._

John shuffled a bit and took a heavy breath before replying.

"…I was afraid."

"Afraid?" asked Tifa.

"I-I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know what these voices are, and after what happened on the ship, I knew that I would be confronted about it. I guess I just panicked."

"That still doesn't take away from the fact that you felt comfortable enough to leave with Rufus," said Cloud.

"...I never said I felt comfortable leaving with him, but at that point, I guess confrontation was the one thing I didn't want to deal with."

There was silence, which John took as a sign that he should say something more.

"I'm still not very good at dealing with it," he chuckled nervously, "As you can probably tell, I'm not very comfortable right now."

"Neither are any of us," replied Cloud quickly, "That doesn't make you any better or above the rest of us."

John was taken aback by Cloud's words.

_What's he going on about? Cloud, you of all people have known since the beginning, you've got to believe me!_

"I-I know that," John stammered in surprised, "I n-never said-"

"You see, I'm just not sure that you do," interrupted Cloud, "I don't know what you thought you were doing when you left, but as far as I was concerned, you were abandoning us. Not only was that bad enough, but also ever since you came back, you've been avoiding anything close to the subject of where you've been or whom you were with, even though it turns out that we knew all along. We shouldn't have to be doing what we're doing right now."

Cloud took a heavy breath and looked around him to the others before continuing.

"What did you talk about with Rufus? You were certainly away for a while," asked Cloud in a tone that was more aggressive than he wished.

Aeris looked to her side to see that Cloud's hand was balled up into a fist.

_This isn't looking good…_

"We didn't really talk about much," answered John, knowing instantly that it wouldn't go over well.

"I don't buy that," said Barret immediately.

"It's true, he never questioned me about the group. He only asked me questions about myself," spoke John while trying to think ahead about what he was going to say next.

"What do you mean?" asked Tifa.

"He kept asking me why I was fighting with you guys and why I was against them, why we were chasing Sephiroth, even though it would be much easier to throw in the towel and that kind of stuff."

_I'm not buying this… _thought Cloud, but before he could speak it, Aeris jumped in.

"And what did you tell him?" she asked.

"I told him that we need to stop Sephiroth because he's a danger to the plant, as are they, and that they know it too. He didn't disagree, and told me that they're trying to track him as well."

"Did he mention how they're trying to track him?" asked Red.

"He said that all they have to go now are reports of his activity, so it's pretty much what we've been hearing. He wouldn't tell me anything on what they plan to do to try to get better information."

_There's still more to this, it can't be this simple… _kept thinking Cloud.

However, the conversation shifted once again when Tifa spoke.

"About Kalm..."

"…I had to run an errand," said John, before staying silent.

"An errand? For who?" asked Yuffie.

"It doesn't matter. All that you need to know is that while I was gone, I saw and spoke to absolutely no one. It was just…something that I had to do."

John felt very awkward avoiding the subject of Zack while they were in his hometown.

"And that's it?" asked Barret, "We're just supposed to believe that?"

There was a moment of silence after that before they resumed.

"I'm asking you to," replied John, "If our times in battle have meant anything, I'm asking you to take my word that that trip was something just for me and that nothing about us was compromised in the least. That's why I didn't tell any of you that I was going."

Clouds fist was still balled up and tight as he tried to control himself as he spoke.

" I have a question for you."

"I'm listening," said John, trying to hide the fear inside him.

"Do you want to leave John?" asked Cloud, "Because you can walk away right now and we'll continue on."

"Cloud!" exclaimed Aeris in shock, "You can't be serious!"

"I'm very serious Aeris!" replied Cloud, raising his voice slightly as he stood up, "I'm on this journey to stop Sephiroth, and everything that is against that is against me as well. When we have team members walking off without a single warning, we are left open and vulnerable. Suppose that Sephiroth had been waiting outside Costa Del Sol when we left, we wouldn't have been able to fight like we normally do because one of us wasn't there. When we face him, I expect those next to me in battle today to be there as well. John, if I cannot count on you to be there, then there's no purpose in having you around today. If you cannot trust us to help you with what you need, then maybe you're better off on your own personal journey following Sephiroth, but I will not let you put the team in danger during the process. So now you make a choice, either you stay with us and work with us to stop him, or you go off on your own and stop worrying about us. It's up to you."

_This isn't good… _thought John, _There's no way I can stand on my own right now. Everything I've set out to do will fall apart if I don't go with them!_

A long period of silence passed before John stood up and approached Cloud.

"I want to stay, it's what I've always wanted to do. I want to fight Sephiroth alongside you when the time comes."

_I hope that's true John…_ thought Cloud.

"Good," he said, "Does anyone have any other questions for John?"

Several pairs of eyes, slightly shifted towards Red, as they had remembered what he had mentioned at the prison. The four-legged creature only smiled though when he spoke.

"None whatsoever right now. Thank you John for speaking with us. I know it was very difficult for you to do."

"Heh, don't mention it…" said John quietly.

Tifa was the next to stand up, wanting to move past this.

"Let's go look at the shops, I know there's not much here, there might be some supplies or materia that could be useful."

"That's a great idea Tifa!" exclaimed Aeris with delight as she got up, "Let's go guys."

Barret simply scoffed as he got up.

_I don't know if I believe everything I just heard, but we need manpower, that's a fact…_

Everyone then walked in the direction of the town aside from Cloud and Red who stayed behind for a few extra minutes.

"Why didn't you ask him?" asked Cloud.

Red waited for a second before answering him.

"Ever since he left while we were at Costa Del Sol, I wondered whether there was something about him that I just wasn't seeing, or choosing not to see. That his secrecy was a sign of potential maliciousness against the rest of us. When he left with Rufus and came back, I admit that I was partially siding with Barret in that it could be devastating for us. Earlier today, I also considered it a strong possibility that he's a spy for the Shinra. But now…I realize that I was a fool and I should be ashamed of myself for considering that. I guess my time with Hojo and his people have gotten me to associate secrecy with hostility. But today, I finally saw the truth."

"And what is that?" asked Cloud, curious.

"…He's just a lost kid. I don't know what he's really trying to accomplish, and I don't think that everything he just told us is the full truth, but he is scared and he needs friends right now. That's obvious. It took a great deal of strength for him to do what he just did. There's no point in me adding more stress and pressure to his life right now with most questions. He's very lost right now…and I can relate to that."

"…I think we all can," added Cloud with a nod.

"If there's a spy within our group, I highly doubt it's him."

_I'd like to think that there's no spy at all, _thought Cloud, _We can't have episodes like this, not when we're up against Sephiroth._

"Are you still planning on parting with us once we reach your home?" asked Cloud.

"That's the plan. We're not too far now…"

"That's unfortunate to hear," said Cloud, "I've really enjoyed having your company around, we all have. You'll be missed."

"Thank you Cloud," replied Red, "I will miss all of you too. You're quite a bunch indeed."

The two warriors then silently went to rejoin the others.

* * *

Elsewhere, to the west past the mountains, a phone rang in a house. A woman in a white coat ran frantically to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, may I speak to Cid Highwind?" asked a male voice

"He's busy working right now and isn't at home," replied the woman, "This is Shera, I work with him. May I ask who's calling?"

"My name is Rufus, I am the new President of Shinra, Inc. I would like to come to Rocket Town soon to discuss some plans with him. Would you please tell him to give me a call when you see him? I'll let my secretary know to give him the utmost priority."

After searching the shops, the only thing worthwhile that they had found to buy was a Time materia. As they were preparing to head in the direction of the exit though, a middle-aged woman ran up to cloud and stood in front of him.

"Pardon me young man, could you please come with me? My husband and I need to ask you something."

"Uhh…okay?" replied Cloud, confused as he and the rest of his team were led to a house where an elderly man sat.

"Hm? Who are these people?" he asked the woman.

"Look! Those eyes, it's just like what our son told us about!"

Cloud felt really uncomfortable, as the old man looked him deep in the eyes and smirked.

"That glare…hey son, are you in SOLDIER?"

"I was," answered Cloud simply, "I quit awhile back."

"I see…have you by any chance heard of a Zack in SOLDIER?"

"Zack?" asked Cloud, confused.

"He's our son," said the woman, "He left about ten years ago, saying that he was going to join SOLDIER. We haven't heard from him in a few years, so we're wondering where he is."

"That's strange, I don't remember someone with that name…"

John looked over at Aeris, who seemed to have frozen in shock.

"Zack?" she whispered.

"Young lady? Do you know him?" asked the man.

"He wrote to us about 6 or 7 years ago, saying he had a girlfriend. Could that have been you?" asked the woman with a warm smile.

_What? Zack's from this town? This can't be happening right now…_

"I-uhh… I'm sorry," Aeris stammered, "I don't think I can help you."

With those words she promptly walked out of the house.

John then looked at Tifa, who also seemed to be quite uncomfortable and deep in though.

_That guy…he was from here? He was really nice…I've always wondered what happened to him after Nibelheim. Why doesn't Cloud know him? That was really in SOLDIER, and not a lot of people make it in, he should at least know the name…_

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I've ever heard of your son, but I hope you see him soon," said Cloud, not knowing what else to do.

"Ah I see," said the woman with a sad smile, "Thank you for your time young man. We hope to see him soon as well."

"Take care," said the man as they walked out.

"Where's Aeris?" asked Barret, "She didn't look that well."

"I think she ran towards the entrance," said Tifa rather uncomfortably as her thoughts continued to be jumbled.

"I'll run ahead to see what's wrong," said Cloud.

He was quick to put distance between himself and the others as he approached Aeris.

"How're you doing?" asked Cloud.

She turned around to face him with a weak smile on her face.

"I didn't know Zack was from this town, it just caught me off guard…"

"You know him?" asked Cloud.

"I told you," she giggled weakly, "He was my first love. SOLDIER First Class."

"That's weird. Not a lot of people make it to First Class, so it's weird that I never met him."

_It is really weird, why can't I remember him? _thought Cloud, _I should be able to remember something…_

"Hey, you okay?" asked Aeris, snapping Cloud out of his trance.

"Yeah sorry," he said, "Just thinking…"

"Oh," she smirked, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you're a bit jealous of Zack right now…"

"W-what? Why would I be jealous?" scowled Cloud, "I don't even know him."

"Haha" she laughed, "I'm just kidding."

She then looked at her feet before her voice took on a slightly sadder tone.

"Besides, he probably found someone else by now. He was always a ladies man…"

"Aeris…" Cloud began, not knowing when else to bring this up.

She looked at him as if she knew in advance what he was going to say.

"I don't know if I believe everything that he told us today."

She smiled again before giving a sigh.

"You know, I don't really believe all of it either, but it's enough for now."

"How can you say that? Aren't you worried?"

"I probably should be, but what else is there? I trust him. I just hope that everything is revealed in time. I don't want him to leave, and I know that deep down you're the same."

Before Cloud could say something back, the rest of AVALANCHE walked right up to them.

"Can we leave?" asked Tifa, "This place has been rather overbearing to us today."

"Yeah," said Cloud, "Let's get out of here."

As he was walking out though, Cloud suddenly felt himself step on something hard.

_What's this? _he wondered as he knelt down and sifted a bit through the dirt to see a yellow sphere fall out.

He picked it up and stood, looking at it and trying to decipher what kind of materia.

_It looks like it's a Deathblow materia, these are quite rare, better hang onto it. Gotta take whatever good I can…_

With that, an unsure and re-sewn AVALANCHE silently left the town that had been forgotten by everyone.


	38. Chapter XXXVIII

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Well, it would be an understatement to say that it's been a while. However, I have not abandoned this story. I've recently gotten back into writing it and unlike before, I have started to write out of order, so some of the future scenes are already written. The majority of the next chapter is also completed so look out for that within a few days if you're still paying attention. As always, thank you to everyone who reads this and a special thanks to all the reviewers.

* * *

Testing Fate

Chapter XXXVIII

Several hours after AVALANCHE had departed Gongaga, Reeve sat with Rufus in his office at the top of Shinra Headquarters. Reeve had just finished giving Rufus an update on the status of the rebel group, and in particular, their shaky relationship with John.

"I see, thank you for the information Reeve," said Rufus calmly.

Reeve sat there quietly for a few minutes before speaking again.

"Rufus, may I ask you something?"

"You may ask, but whether I choose to respond or not is up to me," was the answer.

"Is it true what they're saying, that John was with you between the rest of them being in Costa Del Sol and the Corel Prison?"

"Yes, that is true."

"Why?"

"Well, that's the part that I will choose to not answer for the time being."

Rufus could see that his response had reeve concerned, which in turn raised his own.

"I will say though that nothing that was said compromised the company, or our mission, whatsoever."

"...ok," said Reeve, "If you're worried, I have not shared the details of this report with anyone else yet, and I would be willing to remove that part from what I tell others if you would like me to do so."

"...Thank you Reeve," sighed Rufus, "I really mean that. I do not need more whispers going on behind my back than there are already."

"I understand. Do you plan to tell others at some point?"

"I will tell Tseng and the other Turks soon because it's only a matter of time before they find that out since they're on their tail. It's better that they hear from me first. But even if they don't, I assume they'll come to me first to confirm before they do anything else. I have their trust...I hope."

He swung his chair to the side and looked out of the window before continuing.

"As for others... Heidegger, Scarlet, Hojo... The later that they find out, the better. If at all."

* * *

Aeris swung her staff only to have her blow intercepted by John. She quickly stepped back to avoid a kick to her feet, before turning her staff around and hitting John in the back. Moving his staff in front of him, he firmly planted it into the ground to stop himself from falling and ducked to avoid a follow up blow.

"Alright alright!" exclaimed Cloud, "that's enough."

John and Aeris both started to breath easier and gather themselves.

"That was very good Aeris," said Cloud, "You're improving very well."

"Thanks Cloud," sighed Aeris.

"John that was good too," said Cloud quickly, "Good job. I think we're done for today."

Before John had the time to respond to Cloud's compliment, the group leader quickly turned around and started to walk off to get back to their tent, leaving John to only sigh and hang his head in frustration and disappointment.

_What else is new?_

The days since AVALANCHE had left Gongaga had been very long and repetitive. New monsters had been encountered, but the team continued to force their way through the fields and forests, their skills and abilities progressing with every day.

John had made his best effort to try to get on a good page with everyone after the confrontation, but the results had been mixed for the most part. Barret had made it very clear to him that he would let people's actions decide his judgment, and had generally been very civil. Huffy did not seem to care much because she had joined just before his departure, and the response from Cait Sith was the same for reasons obvious only to John. Tifa and Aeris remained warm and compassionate, perhaps more than they should have been. He could see that the former continued to have her doubts, but still believed in John's good intentions. Unfortunately, John had not really made a strong attempt to connect with Red XIII in these past few days, mostly as the four-legged creature seemed to be a bit distant in general. John had just attributed it to his anxiousness about them nearing his hometown, which he wasn't sure if the others remembered.

The situation with Cloud however, had remained as tense as ever. Or if it was not as tense, then definitely colder. The days of when it seemed like John and Cloud had one of the closest bonds within the group seemed to be a distant memory now. Cloud still kept up his word on training John along with Aeris, but that seemed to be the extent of their communication. They still slept in the same tent at nights, but whenever John had attempted to start conversations, Cloud would only give short answers and head off to sleep as soon as he could.

Even when they fought monsters now, Cloud seemed to make it his point to always stay as far off from John as possible. If they were fighting a group, Cloud would always target the group that John was the furthest away from. He never backed John up when he went forward to attack and when John had tried to do the same a few times, Cloud had just upped the ante of his attack and made John's assistance useless.

_I never should have gone off with Rufus, how could I have believed that that was a good idea? We would have still been here, but not like this..._

"Hey," came a voice that snapped him out of his thoughts, "you alright?"

"Yeah Aeris, I'm fine," replied John with a light smile, "It's just..."

As he trailed off, the Cetra responded with a weak smile of her own.

"I understand, don't worry about it. He'll come around eventually..."

"...I can't say I really blame him though."

_This can't go on... _thought Aeris.

* * *

Back at Costa del Sol, Tseng just finished giving a status report to Rufus over the phone when Reno walked into the room in board shorts and a surfboard.

"Tseng, you're gonna cook yourself to death by always wearing that suit. Come join us."

"Reno, in case you've forgotten, some of us have supervisors to report to so we know what to do next."

"Rufus is gonna tell us what to do next when he feels like it. You're in one of the best places in the world, getting paid to do so, and you can chalk up everything to the company as an expense too. Just relax while you can."

Tseng smirked in response.

"Okay Reno...I'll be at the beach shortly."

Reno gave a quick thumbs up before running off, leaving the leader of the Turks to his thoughts.

_Seemingly so carefree still, even after all the bloodshed that we have caused. I envy Reno sometimes._

He got up and started to slowly walk down to the beach.

_We have to stay on our feet. Every day AVALANCHE grows stronger, and if Rude is right, their strength is increasing more than we would like to think. Hojo better be ready for a major fight if he ever wants to get Aeris back._

A small smile came to his face as he thought about the Ancient.

_Aeris...you continue to amaze me still, even after all these years... The last of the Ancients chasing Sephiroth as a part of AVALANCHE, now this is a twist that even I could never have seen coming. I do hope we get to see each other again soon._

He walked down the steps to the beach and approached Rude and Elena, who were tanning.

"Tseng, you really stand out in that suit," smirked Rude as he felt a shadow over him, " That's doesn't really fit a Turk."

"Is something wrong?" asked Elena.

"According to Reeve, they will be at Cosmo Canyon in a short while and then to Nibelheim afterwards."

"Good for them," said Rude, "Cosmo Canyon's very beautiful and lively, I hope they enjoy it. Especially if they're going to that ghost town afterwards..."

"Does that mean we'll be off soon?"

"No, not just yet. According to Reeve, they do not suspect that he is the one watching them, so our feed is safe for now. Let us wait until they're at Nibelheim. We can then follow them through the mountains.

"I see...I prefer that over the original plan," said Rude.

"Where's Reno?"

The usually silent Turk pointed to the ocean to a group of surfers.

"Enjoying life without Scarlet."

* * *

Another long day of driving was entering the late afternoon. Inside the buggy, AVALANCHE sat quietly, weary and fatigued from the long days that had passed.

_This buggy was supposed to make things easier, but this is more frustrating than the trip to Junín, _thought Tifa, _I guess there is such a thing as being too close._

"...Do we know where we're going?" asked Yuffie, "I don't really mean to seem rude because I've never been to this part of the world, but it just seems that we've been travelling for ages."

"The only way to get anywhere in this continent is to go west," said Barret, "Regardless of where Sephiroth is heading, the best we can assume is that he is going this way. Besides, given that the Turks and the rest of Shinra are after us, we can't risk going to a dead end."

"But we beat the Turks back in Gongaga, why are we worried about them?" the teenager responded.

"That was only two of them," answered Tifa, "and we barely won that battle. We got lucky that they seemed to be taken back by the Summon materia."

"I agree," followed Barret, "And now, they know that we have Summon materia on our side, so they'll be prepared the next time. We can't count on that being our trump card anymore."

"There's also no point in us picking fights with the Shinra," added Cloud, "Our main objective is to find Sephiroth. Everything ties back to him, and if the Shinra don't know that, then they're slowly realizing it. Every fight we get into with Shinra is time lost..."

"I see..."

A short time later, rumbling given by their vehicle interrupted their silence.

_Oh great, now what? _Moaned Cloud in his mind, annoyed with their situation.

"Hey, something's wrong with this thing!" yelled Barret.

The buggy continued to rumble before sputtering out and stopping.

"What's wrong?" asked Aeris.

"This thing may be toast," said Barret as he opened the exit to look at the engine.

"Yup, we're stuck here," he said after inspecting it.

"The sun's going down," said Aeris, "We shouldn't just remain standing out here."

"What do you suppose we do?"

"There," said Tifa, pointing to the near distance.

"Hm?"

"There are lights just over there by that mountain, let's head there."

"I agree," said Cloud, "Everybody pack up what you think we need and let's head off."

_Hmm..._ _how convenient I suppose, _mused Red, knowing just where they were, _I guess this saves me the trouble of asking them to drop me off..._

* * *

After traveling a bit, they found themselves in front of stairs leading up a mountain. Following the stairs, they approached a gate to what looked like a settlement.

"Welcome to Cosmo Canyon," said the guard, "Are you familiar with this land?"

"No," answered Cloud.

"People come here from all parts of the world to study the Planet. Unfortunately, we seem to be at full capacity right now, so I'm afraid that I cannot let you enter.

_Are you kidding me? _thought Cloud, _If we cannot enter then we are really stuck..._

"Might I be able to persuade you otherwise?" asked Red as he stepped out of the back of the group.

"Nanaki!" exclaimed the guard in shock.

_Nanaki? Who's Nanaki?_

"These individuals freed me from my captivity and helped me on the road here. Please let them in and show them hospitality."

"Of course, my apologies. Thank you for helping our Nanaki, please come in."

"Who's Nanaki?" asked Yuffie bluntly.

"Why Nanaki is Nanaki," said the guard with a hearty laugh.

Red then leaped into the air and jumped to the top of a further set of stairs ahead of them.

"I'm going to go see grandfather. These people have had their vehicle break down a few minutes away. Please see if you can repair the vehicle if possible. Come up with me, I will tell grandfather that I'm back and with company."

"Ok Nanaki, we will look into it."

With that, Red sped off into a cave.

"Where is he going?" asked Tifa.

"Nanaki's grandfather is Bugenhagen, the elder of Cosmo Canyon. He is one of the oldest and wisest individuals on the entire planet, many who come through here seek his advice."

"Maybe he can help us," suggested Cait Sith.

"I agree," said Cloud, "Let's follow Red."

* * *

After some further walking, they came to the top of Cosmo Canyon, where they found Red in front of an observatory.

"Red, I mean Nanaki..." began Cloud.

"You can continue with calling me Red," he chuckled, "I've grown quite attached to it actually."

"Red, you're from here?" asked Aeris as she looked out and saw the entire canyon and stone valley, "It's so beautiful!"

"Yes, this is my hometown. My tribe were the protectors of those who appreciated this beautiful canyon and the planet."

His voice got heavier as he continued.

"My brave mother fought and died here, but my cowardly father left her and deserted us...I am the last of our race. And so, my mission that I inherited from my ancestors is to protect this place. My journey with you ends here."

"Red, you're leaving us?!" asked Yuffie.

"Yes Yuffie, I told this to most of the group when we escaped from Midgar. I apologize for not filling in you and Cait Sith later."

"Red..." began Tifa, not knowing how to continue what she wanted to say.

"Let's not try to be too sad. There may be one more way in which I can assist you," he said as he started walking towards to door, "Come with me."

Entering inside, they saw an elderly man with glasses.

"Cloud, this is my grandfather Bugenhagen. He is incredible, he knows everything!"

"Hohoho, I hear that you looked after Nanaki a bit," the elder said as he laughed, "He is still a child you see."

"Please stop grandfather, I am forty eight years old."

"You may not know this, but Nanaki's tribe has incredible biological longevity. Forty eight years for you is only about fifteen or sixteen for him."

"Fifteen or sixteen?!"

"Hoho, and you thought he was an adult?"

"Grandfather," spoke Red with embarrassment, "I want to be an adult... I want to grow up to be able to protect you and the village"

"All in due time Nanaki, there is still much for you to experience."

Bugenhagen then turned once again to face Cloud.

"Nanaki has told me that you are trying to save the Planet."

"This is true."

"That is certainly fascinating, especially because it seems to be inevitable. It's funny what you learn as you grow older, and that is that when the time comes for this Planet to die, you'll understand that you know absolutely nothing."

"When the Planet dies?" asked John.

"Indeed! It may be tomorrow, or a hundred years from now, or a thousand, but it will occur. It may not be too far off."

"How do you know this?" asked Cloud.

"Because I can hear the cries of the Planet."

"The cries of the Planet?!" exclaimed Aeris, "Does that mean that you are an Ancient?"

"An Ancient?" inquired Bugenhagen.

"Grandfather, this girl is the last surviving Ancient," explained Red, "The last of the Cetra!"

"A Cetra! Now that is certainly unexpected. Then you know what I am talking about. If you came from Midgar, you must truly know how the Planet cries when we attack it for our goals."

"Yes, I do," said Aeris.

"I can hear it too. I am not a Cetra though. It is a skill that comes naturally to your kind, but in reality it is one that everyone can learn."

"Learn? Learn how?" asked Barret.

"You just have to learn to listen. We are not as naturally tuned to it as the Cetra, but we can learn. Perhaps with your journey, in time, you may be able to hear the cries as well."

"Grandfather, we are chasing a man named Sephiroth. I assume you have heard of him," said Red.

"Yes I have, I had heard he was dead."

"That appears to have been false, we saw him in the flesh."

"Really now? That is fascinating indeed."

"Is there any way that you can help them?"

"Hmm... I do not know if I can tell you how to 'save' the Planet, but I can educate you on it."

"How can you do that?" asked Cloud.

"I have a machine in the back room that will help me, but I can only take three people in it with me. Who would you like to bring with you? I assume you will be coming."

_Hmm..._

"Aeris, why don't you come with me? I don't know if this is going to be connected to the Ancients, but maybe you'll find out something. Barret, you come too since you've been fighting the Shinra for a long time."

The two chosen members nodded and followed Bugenhagen and Cloud into the back room.

While they were getting set up, Red walked up to John and spoke in a low voice.

"John, may I speak to you in private?" he asked.

"Uhh...sure Red," answered John.

"Let us step outside for this."

Once they were away from being heard by the others, Red continued.

"Grandfather is very wise. He has lived far longer than anyone from your kind that I have ever met. His knowledge is grand and vast, and he is very generous with sharing it to those who ask usually."

"You mean that..."

"I believe that you should talk to him about your predicament. I do not know what he can do, but it cannot hurt."

"Red...thank you very much, I believe I will do that once we are done," said John with a relief.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Red, "You should be candid with him. Even if...there are still parts that you are not comfortable sharing with us yet, you can confide in him. One does not acquire vast knowledge without having the wisdom to know that there is a time and place for all information."

"...alright," said John, a bit taken back.

"Let us head back inside."

Before they reached the door, John decided to ask a question on his mind.

"Red?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think that there are parts that I am keeping from you?"

A chuckle was his response.

"Of course I think you do. But do not take that as an attack on your character. We all have secrets, it's just unfortunate that yours seem to draw the most curiosity."

"...I see," was all that John could respond with.

Soon after they had re-entered, the door to the back room had opened and the rest of the group emerged.

"Well?" asked Tifa.

"That was...very educational," said Cloud, with Aeris and Barret adding nods.

"Hohoho, I am glad to hear that, I'm glad I was able to be of use."

"Thank you, now what will we do?"

"It will likely take them the night to fix your vehicle, and it is getting dark," said Bugenhagen, "Why don't you go to the Cosmo Candle? It's the flame that burns at the entrance to the canyon. You can unwind from your journey for a bit."

"Thank you, we'll do that," said Cloud.

As they filed out of the observatory, they noticed that John was not moving.

"John, are you coming?" asked Tifa.

"I'll meet up with you guys later, I want to talk to him about something."

"Let's go," said Red before anyone else could say otherwise, "Let's reconvene at the Cosmo Candle in a short while."

As they left, Red turned around and met eyes with John, who nodded in gratitude. Once they had left and John could no longer hear their footsteps, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Now then," said Bugenhagen, "What may I help you with?"

"Umm... I don't know how to really start going about this..."

"...it's ok," said the elder, "I can tell."

"Tell what?" asked John.

"There is something about you, something different."

"Would it...would it be alright if I asked for your confidence if I told you something?" asked John quietly.

Bugenhagen stared at him behind his glasses before slowly nodding.

"I-I do not mean that this is something that I am planning to keep this a secret from the others permanently, but... I am not ready to do so yet."

"I understand, and I respect your choice," was the elder's response, "Please proceed."

"I am not from this world. From this plane of existence. I did not come from this planet."

"I see..." said Bugenhagen.

"What do you see when you look at me?"

"I..." started Bugenhagen began before taking some time to think further, "There is something peculiar about you, about your presence. It isn't something that I can quite pinpoint, but there is indeed a difference between you and others that may appear to be just like you at first sight. That's not all though."

"What else can you see?" asked John anxiously.

"I can sense that there is tension between you and the others. An uneasiness that although slight, can be clearly seen by someone with my experience."

"That's no surprise..."

"Why not?"

"This is part of what I want to ask you. What I have been trying to find out."

"Please do tell."

"Ever since I arrived here, I have been hearing these voices every once in a while. Voices that...only I can hear and none of the others can."

Bugenhagen continued to listen carefully.

"They're not all similar too. They all speak over each other and I can never make out what they are saying. But there is sometimes a larger one, one that overpowers them. This one is very different, I don't know how to describe it, but the feeling I get from it is not like the others. It doesn't really speak in words either, there's just this drone or...some kind of sound."

The elder could see that explaining this was difficult for the young man.

"It's alright, you can take a breath," he said with humor and seriousness at once.

After following his advice, John continued.

"The tension that you notice is due to how I have been trying to find out and manage what's happening to me. I have...made some very unwise decisions during our journey that compromised our goal. I do not want to continue to do that, but I feel that I must find out what these voices are and soon. They are getting stronger, and during one episode, I doubted whether I would survive. If it happens during a battle, I do not know if I would be able to protect myself."

"...do you have an idea what may be causing them?"

"No...but I believe that the man that we are pursuing might. However, it is taking us a long time for us to do this, and...I am getting desperate. I do not know how much longer I can..."

"I understand."

John sighed in exhaustion.

"Would you happen to have any idea what might be happening to me, or why?"

"...you said that there is one bigger voice that you cannot understand?"

"Yes. This one doesn't speak the way the others do."

The elder walked back and forth for a bit before he looked at John.

"John...I am sorry, but I do not know what troubles you..."

Looking into the sadness and distraught of the younger man's eyes, he continued.

"...but, I do understand your concerns, and why you may have made some of the decisions which you have. I can give you advice though, and that is to remain with your friends. Whatever it is that you seek, you will find it with them. The issue with the Planet is a very serious one, and it is crucial that your group remains together, and that includes you. When the time to face the truth comes, it will be easier for you to have friends around you."

"I see," said John in a disappointed tone.

"Do not be disparaged. If these voices have ailed you throughout your time here, surely it is because of their support that you have made it so far. My wisdom has its limits too. There are things that I cannot be certain about. You may not be from this world, but you really do remind me of Nanaki."

"Of Nanaki?" asked John, surprised by the comparison.

"Yes, you both seem to be attempting to get a sense of maturity and wisdom and believe that solitude is the key to that, but you are wrong. It is important to depend on those around you as important as it is for them to depend on you. The tensions that exist between you and the others can be relaxed only if both sides make a genuine effort. Please remember this."

John stood in silence before responding.

"Thank you Bugenhagen, I will remember that."

"I'm glad to hear so. Why don't you go off and see what they are up to then now? I will see you again shortly," said the elder as he started to walk towards his machine again.

"Alright, see you later."

As he heard the door close, Bugenhagen turned to the thoughts spinning in his head, curious about possible deduction about what he had just seen, heard, and observed.

_It couldn't be, it makes no sense..._

* * *

The group decided to wander around separately before gathering at the Cosmo Candle. Somehow, Cloud had found himself stuck with Aeris outside a shop.

"Cloud..." began Aeris.

"Yes?"

_I know where this is going..._

"You should talk to him more. You were being quite harsh back in Gongaga."

He sighed in frustration before responding.

"Look Aeris, I get that you're trying to look out for him, but things are just fine."

Aeris gave a light growl in frustration.

"No they're not Cloud! You've barely said a single word to him! Who are you trying to convince here? Me or yourself?"

Cloud did not know how to respond as she continued.

"When he disappeared, I saw how you were worried. Every day, you were concerned with finding him. But since he's come back, you just seem to be shrugging him off and pretending that he never returned, or that he was never there in the first place."

"Yeah well, that was before I realized that he was off just relaxing with our enemy in a mansion."

Aeris walked closer to him and looked him square in the eye.

"Don't give me that! I know that you had concerns with him and Rufus long before this. Don't forget, I was there with you two right after Midgar. You've had an opinion on this for a long time, but you never let it cloud your judgment until now..."

As she walked away, she turned around and looked at him again.

"You said that you expect those who help out in the battle today to help out when we face Sephiroth as well. He's been helping us all out during battles, but you've been more selective."

Cloud stood there speechless as she finished.

"...and don't think I'm the only once who notices."

With that, Aeris turned away once again and left him by himself.

* * *

After walking around some more, Cloud decided to go find the others at the Cosmo Candle. As he walked over, he saw them all sitting around and talking to one another.

_It's nice to see everyone relaxing..._

Cloud decided to go over and sit next to Tifa, who seemed to look very lonely, not talking to anyone and simply staring into the flames with a sad gaze.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"Hm? Oh hey there Cloud," she smiled, "I'm alright I think, it's just..."

There was a bit of silence before she continued.

"We're continuing West in the morning yes?"

Cloud sighed in response and looked into the candle as well, knowing what she meant exactly.

"Yeah, that's the only direction to go. It doesn't seem like Sephiroth stopped around here, which meant he had to have continued West."

"Are you ready? To see it?"

"You mean to see it not there? Our hometown?"

"Yeah..."

"I guess so. It's been so long since then...I've never really thought about going back there."

_That's right I haven't thought about going back...but why? It does feel so long ago, but for some reason, it also doesn't..._

"Cloud, you ok?" asked Tifa, breaking him out of his state.

"Tifa, how did you escape back then? I don't really have much recollection of how I did, but apparently I have since I'm here," said Cloud, attempting to sound light-hearted, "What about you? Do you know?"

_But why don't I know? How can I not remember escaping my hometown as it was burnt to the ground?_

"I remember...going in and out of consciousness after Sephiroth attacked me at the reactor. By the time I really came to, I was at Gongaga. I was with Zangan, my former teacher. He told me that he was taking me to a safe place, and wouldn't say much else. We eventually ended up at Midgar, and he helped me get a place and a bartending job, even though I was still so young."

"Do you know what happened to him or where he is today?"

Tifa shook her head.

"Once I was set up, he left and said he had things to do. I assumed that he was going to see what had happened around Nibelheim since we had left, but I never heard from him again so I don't know where he is now."

"What do you think happened since then?"

"...I don't know. I assume it's all just rubble now. I never checked or mentioned it to anyone that much. The few times that I did, the most people ever said was that there was some kind of incident that they had heard of regarding the reactor. Never about the town, and never about what he did..."

"...try not to think about it too much," said Cloud.

"...that's rather cold."

"It may be, but we cannot change the past. We can't change what happened back then. We also can't change that we are being led back there on our journey now. All we can do is face what we find when we get there."

"...yeah I understand," said Tifa, "Thanks..."

_I'm not sure if I just helped or made her feel worse, I'm not good at this..._

Deciding not to push the subject further, Cloud got up and sat down next to Red.

"So this is our last night?" he asked.

"It appears so," replied Red, "It has been a long journey just to get to this point, not to think about where you have to go."

"Red...you know that you are more than welcome to continue on with us-"

"Thank you Cloud, I truly appreciate the offer," said Red in a somber tone, "But my place is here, I have to protect what is here. I can't just...never mind."

"No...please continue, I want to listen."

"It's about my parents. When I talk about my mother, I am filled with pride and joy, but when I remember my father, my heart is full of anger... That's why I must stay, why I cannot leave like him..."

"So you still can't forgive your father?" came a voice behind them.

Cloud and Red turned to see Bugenhagen approaching them.

"Of course not!" Red exclaimed, "When the Gi Tribe attacked, he ran off and left Mother and the people of the canyon for dead. There is no way I can forgive that!"

The elder's stance or facial expression did not change as he spoke.

"Nanaki, come with me. There is something that you should see."

"What do you mean?"

"All will be explained there," said Bugenhagen before turning, "The place may be dangerous. Cloud could you join us?"

"Yes, of course."

"Splendid. Please bring the Cetra girl and that fellow in the red shirt, John, as well. I believe they will benefit from this as well, as shall you hopefully. I will be waiting by the metal door."

_...what is he talking about? What do me, Aeris and John have to do with this?_

* * *

A short while later, the four of them walked up to Bugenhagen, who stood in front of a large metal door.

"Right on time."

"Grandfather, what is this about?"

"Nanaki, there are times for words and times for actions. Right now is a time for action, so explanations from me would be mostly useless right now. I will speak as it is necessary during our trip."

With that, he took out a key from his pocked and turned a lock next to the gate, opening it.

"Alright now, remember to watch your back, and your friends backs too," said Bugenhagen, "You never know what you'll find down here hohoho..."


	39. Chapter XXXIX

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

As always, thank you to all who read the last chapter, and a special thanks to those who reviewed. To prove that the last update wasn't a fluke, here's the next one.

* * *

Testing Fate

Chapter XXXIX

"How far down do these stairs go?" asked Aeris as Red jumped over her to a new ledge.

"Quite a ways down," said Bugenhagen, "Once you see where we are going, you'll see why it's this far down."

"Why did people dig this far down?" asked Cloud.

"They didn't," was the answer, "They dug up."

Once they finished climbing down, they made sure their equipment was properly set. Aeris decided to try out the Fairy Tale staff she had found in Gongaga after their battle with the Turks. It allowed her to load up on the materia, so she filled it with the Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Shiva materials, while outfitting her bangle with the Ice materia together with the All materia, as well as the Enemy Skill. Cloud had gone with the Deathblow and Ice materias in his sword and the Ramah and Fire materias in his bangle. Red had taken an Ice and Restore, while John had decided to bring the sword he had been training with instead. He fitted it with a Fire materia and the Titan summon, and had put in a combination of the Restore and All materias in his bangle, as well as a Lightning.

"Wow, what are these caves?" asked Aeris.

"This is the Cave of the Gi," explained Bugenhagen, "Decades ago, Cosmo Canyon was attacked by foreign intruders. We were taken by surprise because instead of attacking from the front gate, they dug themselves an entrance through here."

Cloud noticed the tension in Red as he stood.

"Our survival lay in question. But there was one warrior..."

"A warrior?" asked Cloud, "Who?"

"...let's not talk much about this anymore, it is better that you are shown," said the elder as he started to walk, "Follow me. It has been a while since I last ventured down here, but I believe that I remember the correct way..."

* * *

Over at Rocket Town, a man and a woman were sitting down for dinner. The usual tension that seemed to be ever-present between them these days seemed to have been lessened by good news.

"Cid, may I ask what has brought such a smile to your face recently?" asked the woman.

"What, you don't like it when I smile?"

"No no, I'm sorry," the woman said as she lowered her head, "I just thought that I'd ask..."

"He he, quit your worrying Shera!" laughed Cid, "My fortunes may finally be looking up in a big way."

"...that's great to hear Cid! But I don't really understand..."

"You remember when Rufus Shinra called a while back?" asked the pilot.

"Yes..."

"Well, when I talked to him, he said that he wanted to talk to me about something important and that he was coming here in person to do it."

"Rufus Shinra? In person?!" exclaimed Shera, "What could he possibly want here?"

"He didn't say, but I have a hunch that my chance at going to space may not be quite so dead yet..."

* * *

It did not take the party of five to walk long before they noticed that they were not alone. They found themselves battling with what appeared to be figures resembling warriors that seemed to appear out of thin air. The battles were nothing they couldn't manage, but they were unable to always detect when they would appear.

As they walked further into the cave, one of them noticed something particular about their foes.

"Why are there spirits here?" asked Aeris, "They should have returned to the Lifestream."

"Ah, so you can tell that they're ghosts," mused the elder, "I guess I should have expected it from a Cetra."

"...their hatred and lust for vengeance keeps them here. It was so strong when they were killed in battle that it stopped them from returning to the Lifestream."

"I see, that must be terrible..."

"Indeed," agreed Bugenhagen, "People often talk about how powerful love and friendship can be, how they can make what some may consider impossible happen. But they forget the other side of the coin. What is capable of love and friendship is also capable of hatred and destruction, even if they do not realize so."

"So you think that any one of us is capable of that?" asked Aeris, "even...myself?"

"It's a scary thought isn't it?" chuckled the elder, "We are quick to brand individuals as good or bad, and not understand why they have made the decisions which they have. In their mind, they may not see themselves as being evil at all. They could only be doing what they believe is right."

_What they believe is right... _mused Aeris, _all those people who were researching the Ancients, who went after me and my mother, they all believe that they are working towards a good...or at least, their idea of good..._

As they walked forward, they came up to what looked like a massive spider web, blocking them from progressing further.

"Hmm...was this made by the Gi too?" asked Cloud.

"I don't believe so," said Bugenhagen, "the place we are going to leads to an outdoor area that the Gi entered through. It's likely that in the years since the battle ended, other monsters have entered to make this cave their home."

"What do you suppose we do then?" asked John.

"We should be able to get through this with fire..."

"Sounds good," said Cloud as he extended his hand, "Everyone get out of the way."

He took a few steps back and extended his hand.

_Let's just get this over with..._

Cloud shot off a fireball that set the web on fire instantly. As they watched it burn to the ground, they were taken aback by a screech above them.

"Sounds like we angered whatever made that..." said Red.

"I can't see anything up there," said Aeris nervously as she tried to spot the creature.

"You may not be able to," said Red, "But I can..."

They stayed silent as Red tracked their foe.

"John, get out of the way!"

"Huh-"

He didn't have time to make a move as he felt a sudden force behind him, pushing him to the ground. He turned around in time to be struck to the side by one of the Stinger's legs. As he turned around, he saw the hideous creature about to launch an attack. Thankfully, Red, who dashed at the spider and hit it away, saved him. It was then hit by icicles from Aeris and pushed closer to the ground. John himself delivered the final blow as he cut its back legs, sending it into the depths below to its death.

This entire time, Cloud had stood perfectly still and watched everything unfold.

"John, are you ok?" asked Bugenhagen.

"Yeah I'm fine," was the reply as John tried to appear cheerful and confident.

_That was close..._

"Good, let's continue," said Cloud coldly.

As the group silently started to walk again, Bugenhagen silently walked up to the leader.

"Cloud, walk with me," said Bugenhagen.

"Hm?"

"Let's walk up ahead."

The two of them increased their walking speed until they were a healthy, but still close, distance from the rest so their conversation would not be overheard.

"You are not fighting as you should."

"...I don't understand."

"...I think you do, and I think you know who I'm referring to."

Cloud did know how to respond, or if there was even any sense in trying to.

"Your friends deserve a great leader Cloud, don't stop yourself from being one."

"...it's not that simple."

"...actually it is."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about. When you're out there on that battlefield, you are just trying to stay alive, as is everyone else..."

"Don't hide your dedication towards your friends, and don't let it be compromised. They need you, and you need them. You need each other more than you may realize..."

Cloud stayed silent as they continued walking.

* * *

"Rufus, we need to talk!"

The Shinra president looked up to see one of his least favorite people in the world.

"...hello Hojo. Can I help you with anything?" he asked lazily, knowing where the discussion was going to go.

"Reeve has told us that the Ancient and the others who escaped are at Cosmo Canyon right now. I demand that we go after them at once."

"And why would we do that?"

"Haven't you been listening all this time?!" exclaimed Hojo, "I need that Ancient back here. We can perfectly get her once they leave the Canyon."

"...I don't think so."

Hojo was infuriated.

"What are you talking about?! Didn't you hear me? I need her!"

"Do you really? And what do you suppose would happen if we were to get her?" asked Rufus, "We would have AVALANCHE right back here as well. With that, we loose our eye into them as they track Sephiroth. It's apparent that we aren't doing that well on that front, so the more eyes we have out there the better, even if they're not ours."

"But we're risking having her killed! And then they will be all gone!"

"If that happens so be it," said Rufus nonchalantly, "My goal is to further our power and to make sure that Sephiroth doesn't become too big of a problem, not tracking some girl."

"Some girl?! Do you have any idea who she is to us?"

Rufus gave a low chuckle in response.

"Hojo...I know a lot more than you think I do. I do know exactly who she is. More specifically, I know that she is related to one of her old colleagues."

He saw Hojo's pupils widen in shock, especially as he saw that Rufus wasn't lying.

"Impossible...how do you know that?"

"I'm the President here, I make it my business to know. And with that, it got me thinking about other things."

Hojo stayed quiet as Rufus continued.

"The investigation on Professor Gast's death was never officially resolved. It's technically still in limbo. I do not think it would take that much more digging to resolve it, especially since we do have record of just how young Ms. Gast was when she was first brought here with her mother."

The silence returned as Rufus watched the dishonorable scientist squirm.

"I am currently very set on our current trajectory. But if we decide to change course and do extra things like try and get her back here, I might as well start indulging some of my other curiosities right now as well, and who knows where that could lead..."

Hojo gave Rufus a hard look and gave an angry shrug before getting up and storming away.

_Foolish old man, I'm going to make sure that your days are numbered. Once we're done with Sephiroth and Jenova, there won't be any more use for you..._

* * *

Finally, they found themselves in what seemed like a dead end. A wall blocked the place where they expected the path to continue. More strangely, the wall appeared to have an angry face engraved on it.

"What's this?" asked Cloud, getting slightly annoyed at the whole situation, "You said that there was an exit back here."

"There's supposed to be..." said Bugenhagen as he walked closer to the wall.

Suddenly, the ground around them started to shake. As they looked around for a possible source, the face on the wall started to contort.

"What's going on here?" asked Red.

"It can't be..." said Bugenhagen.

"Is it another spirit?" asked Aeris.

"Yes, but this one is far more powerful. It appears to be one of their leaders. To think that it could actually create a wall here after all this time..."

Suddenly, the face disappeared from the wall and a figure began to materialize.

"Bugenhagen get back!" yelled Cloud, "This isn't going to be easy."

"Right, best of luck."

As the elder stepped to relative safety, the figure had finished appearing in the form of Gi Nattak. John noticed that he looked about as same as he expected in size and might.

_But where are the Soul Fires?_

Red was the first to attack as he lunged and landed a slash onto its side. Aeris extended her staff and fired off a bolt attack, but the specter was quick to rise and dodge it. He then extended his hand and launched a fire attack downward.

"Everyone get out of the way!" yelled Red.

The group scattered all around and John fired a lighting spell upward to hit his hand and stop the attack.

"We need to get it down!"

Aeris decided to utilize the elements to try to score a quick victory.

_Let's try this summon!_

The Cetra planted her staff in front of her and began to focus on the Shiva materia. A blue light began to fill the room as the ice maiden appeared in front of them. Gi Nattak attempted to fire an attack at her, but she extended her hand to dissipate it. She then created icicles around her and launched them before disappearing. Gi Nattak however was quick enough to dodge them as they flew, and it was obvious that none of them were going to hit.

_Ugh, he's fast! _thought Aeris, _but he seems to be extremely concentrated on avoiding that attack, so I may have a chance..._

She quickly fired off a Laser attack and hit it square in the torso and sending it falling down.

"Great shot Aeris!" exclaimed John.

Red made a move on her success and rushed at Gi Nattak with his full force, hitting him hard enough to send him crashing into the wall. The Ancient then continued her barrage, blasting back the wall the ghost had made in the process. When she was finished, they could not see whether their opponent had been defeated or not. As they waited for the rubble to clear, Aeris slowly approached.

"Is it over?"

The tension continued as the view became clearer and Red saw something move.

"AERIS DUCK!"

Aeris quickly followed his command and just narrowly missed Gi Nattak zooming over her as he levitated upwards over them.

_Now what? _wondered Cloud.

The specter raised both of his hands and started to concentrate magical energy the group saw a red light gathering above him and turning into a flame.

_That must be..._ thought John.

Before John could figure out a way to warn the others, Gi Nattak shot the flame straight at Red. However, instead of making impact, it seemed to dissipate upon contact.

"Red! Are you ok?" yelled John.

"I seem to be alright I believe..."

"Something's not right," shouted Bugenhagen, "Stay careful!"

As he finished talking, Gi Nattak raised his hands again and created another flame. This time, instead of sending it down, he seemed to hold it in his empty hand and watch the team.

"Stay on your guard!" instructed Cloud.

The specter then started to fly at Cloud with its blade outstretched. As everyone started to react, he quickly launched his second attack at Aeris. She did not have time to dodge, but she couldn't feel any effect either.

_What is this?_

Cloud's blade met the specters and they started to duel. The ghost was fast as quick, but Cloud's skill was enough to hold him off.

"Let's go help him!" yelled Aeris.

The three of them started to rush at their foe. Sensing this, Gi Nattak backed off Cloud and levitated upward again. He then outstretched his hand and seemed to start to concentrate.

"What's going on?" asked Cloud, "what is he doing?"

"Cloud...there's something wrong," said Aeris weakly as she started to clutch her chest and lean against her staff, "It's getting very hot in here..."

"Aeris, what are you talking about?"

"I'm feeling it as well," panted Red as his knees started to weaken, "I think it was that ability he used on us. He's making our body temperature rise so that we can't do anything."

The two men could only watch as their allies started to lie down and breath heavily, trying to maintain consciousness.

"Cloud! We've got to defeat this thing quickly!" yelled John.

The leader's response was still one of silence.

_I know that he's right but..._

Cloud did not have much time to think in peace as Gi Nattak lunged at John, who did the best to parry his blows, but found it increasingly more difficult as the spirit did not seem to tire out. During this, Cloud just seemed to watch and not know what to do.

_He appears to be doing ok I guess... I mean I have been training him with the sword so_

However, Cloud's worries intensified as he saw Gi Nattak give a quick and powerful slash upward that left John open after he tried to successfully block it. Gi Nat take then used this opening to ram himself into John, sending him tumbling back and landing on his face.

As John turned himself over in pain, he saw Gi Nattak standing over him with his spire. The specter raised it above him with his right hand and swung down. John managed to block it, but the force was so strong that it knocked his sword out of his hand.

_Ah crap! Cloud where are you?!_

John extended his hand and shot out a spell to try to defend himself, but it was easily deflected.

Cloud was watching this unfold and not making a move, confused and frightened by his own stillness.

_What am I doing? He's about to die! What's wrong with me? Why am I hesitating?_

Gi Nattak raised his weapon once again and was about to deliver the finishing blow.

_Goddammit!_

As John brought his arms in front of him to brace himself, he noticed that the attack never came. He looked past to see Gi Nattak bent backwards, trying to rid himself of something. He quickly rolled away and grabbed his sword. As he turned, he saw that Cloud had plunged his blade into the specter's back and was hanging onto the buried Force Stealer as both he and the enemy slowly landed on the ground. Using the climhazzard skill, Cloud pushed off and delivered a massive slice up Gi Nattak's back, making the sprit violently slash around. He didn't have chance to hit Cloud though, as a bolt spell from John knocked his weapon from his hand. John then jumped forward and shoved his blade into where Gi Nattak's heart was supposed to be. As he tried to withdraw it, the specter started to violently convulse and threw him off. Gi Nattak tried to fly around before lying down and disappearing, the wall that had sealed off the exit vanishing as well.

"Hey are you guys alright?" asked John as he looked over at Red and Aeris who were getting up.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better now."

"I'm good."

John then looked over at their leader, who himself seemed to be at a loss for words for what had just occurred.

"Thanks," said John with a smile as he panted with exhaustion.

Cloud merely nodded in response.

"Ohohoho," laughed Bugenhagen as he came up to them, "That was marvelous everyone! It's been a long time since I have seen anything like that. Come, let us go. It's just up ahead,"

* * *

As they came outside, they saw a pile of boulders in the middle of the canyon. As they looked around, trying to see what they were supposed to find, Red jumped upwards onto the boulders.

"That...that is..." he found himself unable to speak.

The rest of the group looked upward to see a statue of a creature that strikingly resembled their comrade.

"This is the warrior who fought the Gi," explained the elder, "He fought off the Gi and kept them from destroying Cosmo Canyon. But, he was never able to return...

The usually quiet warrior felt tears coming to his eyes.

_Father..._

"Look Nanaki! Look at your Father, the warrior Seta!"

_That's Red's father?! _thought Cloud, _but he's..._

"Even after the Gi's poisonous arrows turned his body to stone, he continued to protect us. And he protects us to this day..."

"I-I..." stammered Red.

"You thought that he was a coward, but he alone fought to protect us!"

"Did...did mother know?"

"Yes, she knew very well indeed. They both made me swear to shut the cave, told me to forget all about it. But, I don't think they'd be upset that I broke my promise. Not to show you this..."

_All this time, I was wrong... Father, you did protect me and Mother, you protected everyone..._

"Grandfather...thank you."

Following the whisper, Red jumped up the canyon to join his father at the top. John noticed that the ground where he had been standing on the boulder was now soaked with tears. Once reaching his destination, Red began to howl. So loudly that all those back at the canyon could hear. Those who knew why he was doing so, the other elders who had been around during the battle with the Gi, smiled. They smiled and cried silent tears of their own, from the joy that the long withheld truth had finally been delivered to Seto's son.

"I think we should head back," whispered Aeris, "Leave these three alone."

"Agreed, will you be alright here Bugenhagen?" asked Cloud.

"Yes, Nanaki and I will return later. I will see you then."

"Alright."

As John and Aeris walked off back into the cave, Cloud continued looking at the elder.

"Thank you. Thank you for teaching me tonight."

Bugenhagen gave a wise smile to the young man.

"Don't give me all the credit, you taught yourself as well."

As the three warriors took one last look at their friend, they noticed his tears flowing freely. The tears that had long been kept back by anger. And even though they did not understand how, they thought they saw the fallen Seto crying as well.

* * *

"That was really good to see," said Aeris happily as they walked back to the inn.

"Yeah," said John, "I'm glad he finally has closure with his father."

"Yeah, I'm kinda jealous to be honest..."

"Aeris, was your father an Ancient too?" asked Cloud.

"You know...I'm not really sure," she answered, "I never really asked my mother about him. I was so young and there were so many things going on... I would like to have closure as well, but at this point, I doubt I ever will."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Haha, don't worry. It's nothing new for me, I've learned to live with it well."

_She tries to be so strong... _thought Cloud, _It's hard not to admire it._

As they got near the door to their rooms, Cloud stopped walking.

"Hey Aeris, can you give us a moment?"

"Hm? Yeah sure," smiled Aeris, "I think I'm gonna go turn in, I'll see you guys in the morning."

_Finally... _she thought as she went in.

Once they stopped hearing her footsteps, Cloud looked over at John. The other man stared back, not knowing what to say, or whether he should speak first. Finally, the AVALANCHE leader broke the silence with a sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry."

John was somewhat taken aback by how direct he was being.

"...you don't have anything to apologize about."

"Yes I do. There is no excuse for the way I have been treating you, especially on the battlefield. Regardless of my...personal concerns with some things that have occurred, I should never have carried that with me when we went into battle."

"We can be strong alone, but we are always stronger together. Bugenhagen told me that we need each other, whether we realize it or not. I didn't before, but I realized that tonight when we saw Red's father."

"What do you mean?" asked John.

"Bugenhagen said that Seto went through that cave all alone and fought of the Gi Tribe by himself. His strength allowed him to win, but he paid a price in the process. He never got to go back to his family, to his home. He never got a chance to live the life that he fought so hard for, and then I thought of something."

Cloud took a moment to stop before he continued.

"What if he hadn't gone alone? What if he had others to watch his back? Maybe he wouldn't be where he is right now. Maybe Red would have grown up with a father."

"I don't really know if I understand..."

"All this time, I've believed that us traveling as a group was so that we had more strength when it came time to fight Sephiroth, but now I realize that there's much more. Because we are together, we can watch out for each other. We can make sure that no matter what happens during this journey, it won't be anyone's last. I want all of us to be able to enjoy the life that we are trying to project from him."

_Cloud...if only I could say that you'll be able to do that..._

"Whatever you are worried about, I don't want you to feel as if you cannot share it with us. When the time comes for you to face Sephiroth and what is happening, we will be there with you, and we won't turn away... I've gotten the sense that that's what you've been worried about, and what caused you to leave. And...I have not been helping that since you've gotten back."

"Cloud...I really don't deserve this," said John, looking at the ground, "I left the group. Worse than that, I left without telling anyone. You were right back in Gongaga, we don't know what lies ahead. There's no excuse for what I did. I recklessly endangered all of you, so...I cannot ask or expect any forgiveness for that."

Cloud found that difficult to respond to.

"Even so..." he began, "I should not have avoided assisting you in battle. There is no excuse for that either, perhaps even more so than what you did. We cannot change the past and cannot know what really lies ahead, so we can only promise to try to do what is best right now."

With that, the leader of AVALANCHE extended his hand as a formal signal to end their hostility. John just stared for a few seconds before responding and shaking it.

"I agree."

_We may not know what lies ahead, but I do..._

* * *

John opened his eyes to find himself face down on a set of stairs.

_What the?! Where am I?_

It took a quick look down to realize just where and when he was.

_Aeris no!_

He quickly stood up and started to run down the stairs towards the center of the capital and the altar. As he ran down, he noticed that there was no one else nearby, not even Cloud.

_What's going on here?_

"Aeris! Get away from there!" he yelled as he started to jump across the platforms and looked up to see her killer descending.

"Get out of-"

Suddenly, John found himself unable to move or speak, frozen just as he got to the top of the altar. He could only watch as Sephiroth flew down and plunged his blade into Aeris' back.

_NO!_

As she slumped to the floor and lay motionless, Sephiroth looked at John, who was still unable to move. He smiled with a look of satisfaction and turned around before flying up and out of sight. As he disappeared, something started to fall from upwards.

_Is that...Jenova?_

To John's surprise, it wasn't Jenova, but the Masamune, that fell to the ground and imbedded itself in the ground next to Aeris' lifeless body. He tried to move but found himself still unable to. It was then that something unthinkable started to occur, as Aeris' started to move. John could only watch in amazement and confusion as she stood up and looked at him. There was a cut on her dress where the sword had passed through, but there was no blood. But as John looked into her eyes, he knew that something was not right. Instead of the usual warmth and welcome, there was a vastness and emptiness that he had never seen before.

"Why do you resist?" she asked, "Why are you trying to stop this, when you know its necessity?"

_Aeris, I'm trying to save you!_

"You fool," was the cold response, "What makes you think you have any right to say who can be saved? What makes you think that you are actually saving anyone?"

_Why are you saying this?_

"You don't understand do you?" she asked before turning away from him, "When you close the door on one future, the door to another opens."

_What is she talking about?_

Aeris turned her head to glance at him before continuing.

"What makes you so certain that the new door is any better?"

_Aeris, I don't understand..._

She chuckled in response.

"Of course you don't understand, how could you?"

With that, she quickly removed the Masamune from the ground and lunged at him.

"And there lies your error!"

John didn't have any time to think or react before the sword was thrust into him.

Shooting up out of his bed and breathing heavily, John looked around himself to confirm he was still at Cosmo Canyon.

_What the hell was that?!_

He felt his stomach to make sure that what he had experienced was only a dream.

_Why did she attack me? What's going on here?_

He got up and started to dress himself.

_I need to take a walk..._

* * *

Around that same time, Rufus stood on the balcony outside his office in Midgar where he had battled with Cloud and John during what seemed to be much longer ago than it actually was. His mind was filled from what had been reported to him by reports from Reeve and Tseng earlier that day, as well as his confrontation with Hojo. His thoughts were centering around the individual who was tying them all together, and not Sephiroth.

_So much commotion over one girl. Well, she's not just a girl I suppose. Even if you remove the fact that she's an Ancient, she is Professor Gast's daughter. A beautiful one at that too..._

He recalled the brief moment where he had seen her in person, on this same rooftop.

_I would like to talk to her at some point, find out if she truly justifies all this hysteria around her. I do suppose it may happen sooner or later..._

* * *

As the land waited for the sun to wake it, Red sat at the top of Cosmo Canyon outside Bugenhagen's door.

"Mind if I join you?" came a voice from below.

Red looked as John came up the stairs, seemingly still weary.

"Certainly,"

"You alright?"

"Let's just say a bad dream..."

"I see...nothing too frightening I hope."

John just sat in silence as he let the words enter his mind.

_I wish that were true Red, I wish that were true..._

"...how are you feeling? You know, with what you just found out."

Red took a minute to ponder that thought.

"I...suppose that I am feeling good. All this time, I thought that my father was a coward who ran away, but instead it was the very opposite. He was the only one who stood up, who make sure that the Gi would not destroy us...at whatever cost. However..."

"However what?" asked John as Red's voice died down.

"Even though I believed that my father had run away as a coward, I had held out hope that he was still alive somewhere. That I would one day come to meet him. That I would meet someone else from my race..."

"I guess...I'm all alone now. I always knew it, but I guess I'm really realizing it right now."

"...that's not true," said John.

"Hm?"

"You have a whole village of people here who couldn't be happier to see that you're safe. You have Bugenhagen, who went through great danger tonight to show you what he did. And...you have us."

"That's..." Red tried to start before quieting himself.

"Trust me," said John as he looked down, "Some people would love to have what you got here."

_John...I've always assumed that you kept your origins and family secret for a reason. But...could it be that you don't have one? He's not the only one either, Cloud and Tifa lost their whole families..._

"I'm sorry."

"Heh, don't worry. You don't have anything to apologize for."

"I talked to Bugenhagen," said John after some silence.

"I had assumed that much," said Red, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you."

"...I wouldn't really say that."

"Hm?"

"He wasn't able to tell me what was wrong with me, but I'm not surprised. I believe that only Sephiroth himself can do that. But, I did realize something important when I talked to him, and from tonight as well."

"What is that?"

"We need each other, whether we realize it or not. Cloud pointed it out to me earlier tonight."

_Cloud...then that must mean..._

"We are each other's protection and the closest thing we have to a guarantee for survival. That's what I was not seeing when I went off, but I know it now."

_Interesting, "guarantee for survival"..._

"Red, even though I feel that I haven't gotten to know you as well as I could have, or should have, I will really miss having you with us."

The four-legged creature smiled and looked into the distance as the sun started to.

"Thank you, I will miss it too."

The two of them stayed sitting as John's mind went back to what he had seen.

_That dream, it said that when the door closes on one future, then another opens. It's like that other dream where Meteor fell and Aeris was there. Does this automatically mean that if Aeris survives, there is no way to stop Meteor? That just can't be...I won't believe it!_

* * *

Early the following morning, Red found himself with his grandfather again.

"I talked to John earlier and he said that you had helped him somehow."

"I told him what I could, and what I believe he wanted to hear."

"Grandfather, do you have any idea what might be troubling him?"

Bugenhagen chuckled before speaking.

"Why he's being troubled by the same things all young people are. Uncertainness, nervousness, not knowing whether his decisions are truly correct ones. But I suppose I could say the same about you as well oh ho ho."

Red's face did not change as Bugenhagen calmed down.

"Now...to speak more seriously, I do not know the origins of what might be troubling him specifically, but I can tell you this. He is truly an individual who means to add to your cause, and his presence is crucial. Perhaps more crucial than all of you, or even myself, realize."

The four-legged creature stayed silent as the elder looked into his eyes through the black lenses.

"Nanaki, I want you to go with them."

"But, Grandfather-"

"No Nanaki! Listen to me! There is no excuse for you to stay here. We will be fine here. You said that you want to protect this canyon, to do so you must leave. There is a battle being fought Nanaki, but it is not being fought here. It is being fought around the entire Planet, wherever your friends and individuals like them will choose to stand up, and the fate of the rest of us depends on the outcome."

Bugenhagen looked upwards before continuing.

"Cloud said that they're trying to save the Planet. Frankly, I am not sure if that is even possible. Even if they stop every reactor, even if they stop Sephiroth, everything is due to perish. But...I've been thinking, maybe there is something we can do."

"Maybe we can do something to help a dying planet, a planet in need. It's screams have gotten louder recently. Whatever the Shinra have been doing for years is nothing compared to the danger that Sephiroth and Jenova pose. I don't know what they're planning on doing, but you must pursue them!"

_Grandfather..._

* * *

"Alright, everyone ready?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah, I think so," said Tifa.

"Let's get going then."

The team started to quietly walk down the stairs towards their buggy.

"Wait for me!"

They turned around in time to see a red figure jump over them and land next to their vehicle.

"Red!" exclaimed Yuffie, "I thought you were staying here."

"So did I Yuffie. However, I realized that my place isn't here right now. It's with all of you. We must stay unified to have a chance of success, and I couldn't live with myself if I stayed here. I'd be what I had wrongly believed my father to be. I plan on seeing our journey to the very end."

"Good to hear," smiled Cloud, "Let's get going everyone. We can't let Sephiroth get too far ahead of us."

As they filed into the buggy, Red waited until just him and John were left outside.

"You were right, we do need each other. I believe I am realizing that too. And...I think you and I will finally have the time to get to know each other better."

"I'm very glad to hear that," said John.

_Father... I will do you proud! _thought Red.

* * *

As AVALANCHE drove off to their next destination, the elder of Cosmo Canyon stood outside his observatory and watched them head westward.

_Good luck to all of you. I hope you find success despite my doubts..._

His thoughts then turned to specific conversation he had had with one of the individuals the previous night.

_I did not want to risk giving you an answer that I might not have been certain about, but it just might be that what you seek may be closer than you think..._

He continued to think as the sight of the buggy got smaller and smaller.

_But if what he says is true, then how could my theory be as well? I guess that there are limits to everyone's knowledge after a certain point..._


	40. Chapter XL

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VII or any of the characters from it. However, I did create the character of John.

Like always, thank you to all who read the last chapter, and a special thanks to those who reviewed. This one is a bit shorter, but there's a very crucial part at the end. Enjoy!

* * *

Testing Fate

Chapter XL

In the Shinra mansion basement, the dead of silence was disturbed by the arrival of two individuals.

"It's been a while since I've been here..."

"Why are we stopping here Sephiroth? We should continue to move forward."

"There is no reason to hurry. If we get too far ahead of them, we'll just be bored. We should throw them a bone, motivate them to keep their journey going."

"So what are you planning on doing? Fighting them here?"

"Haha, I don't think they would survive a fight with me right now. But it wouldn't hurt to drop in and say hello..."

"And how are your hellos going to help us get the Black Materia?" asked the extraterrestrial being.

"If it encourages them to continue further, it will do its job. You said that the Shinra was looking to get into the temple as well, which means that at some point they will cross paths with Cloud's group. It doesn't matter who opens the temple first or who gets the Black Materia out...but it would be simpler to have Cloud do it."

"...suit yourself, I will be waiting in the mountains."

* * *

"Cloud, are you okay?" asked Aeris, "You've been very quiet since we left Cosmo Canyon. Quieter than usual."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Don't lie, going on about how it doesn't matter," said Barret, "It would be strange if it actually didn't. That goes the same for you as well Tifa."

"Barret..."

"What are you talking about?" asked Yuffie.

"I lived on this continent for over thirty years. I know where everything is...and where things used to be."

"...I should have expected as much," sighed Tifa, "...we will be passing by our old hometown soon."

"You mean Nibelheim?"

"Yeah...or what used to be Nibelheim."

"I see..." said Aeris, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

"Like I said," spoke Cloud, "Don't worry about it. All of you should enjoy resting while you can. We'll be unable to take this buggy further when we get to the mountains."

* * *

Reno was quickly awoken with a massive splash of cold water.

"Hey what's the big deal?"

"Start getting dressed," said Tseng, "They will be at Nibelheim within half an hour. We don't know how long they will be there before continuing into the mountains, so we can't waste any time."

"Sheesh, you could have just put the alarm on."

"Hey, I got to get some enjoyment out of the morning right?" joked Tseng.

"How are we planning on landing unnoticed?" asked Rude.

"We will hover around the area until Reeve tells us they're deep enough into the mountains for us to land."

* * *

Cloud looked around him in shock as their vehicle slowed down. Instead of the clear field that they expected to see, they appeared to be driving up to what looked like a regular village. A village that looked all too familiar.

_What's going on...what is this?!_

"Cloud...am I seeing things?" asked Tifa.

"I...I don't know."

The team climbed out of the buggy and walked up to what appeared to be a town gate. As they passed it, they approached the same water tower that Cloud and Tifa had seen every day as they had been growing up. Around them were the same houses that they remembered seeing whenever they were in the square, in the exact same order and color.

"...I thought you said this place had been wiped off the map," said Cait Sith.

"It was!" exclaimed Tifa.

"...I remember the flames, the smoke..."

"But there's my house..."

"I think we should find out what's really going on here," said John.

"If the town is still here, you think the people would still be?" asked Yuffie.

"Hmm...let's check the inn," suggested Cloud, "The owner was a friend of my mother's."

AVALANCHE followed his lead and walked into the inn. Inside, they saw a man with blond hair and mustache who greeted them with a smile.

"Greetings, may I offer you a room?"

"...actually, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me," asked Cloud.

"Certainly, how may I help you?"

"I used to live in this village, and it was burned down a few years ago. How is still standing like this?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about," said the man somewhat nervously, "Nothing of that sort has ever happened here. I should know, I've lived here all my life."

"I grew up here as well," said Tifa, "and I don't remember ever seeing you. There was a different man who used to own this Inn for as long as I can remember."

"Then you remember wrong. In fact, I don't believe I've ever seen either of you before. I'm sure if I asked the other people who lived here they would say the same. Please leave," said the man angrily.

"Let's go," said John.

The team slowly walked out and went to the base of the clock tower. As they looked around, they saw the very few people around giving them a quick look every now and then, almost as if to check how quickly they would leave.

_What's going on here? _thought Cloud

"Cloud look!" whispered Aeris as she pointed to the side of one of the houses.

Leaning against it, they saw a black-cloaked figure, just like the ones they had seen on the eastern continent and around Mt. Corel.

"What's one of those doing here?!" asked John, "And why isn't anyone reacting to it? We haven't seen those around the public before."

"It's also not the only one," added Yuffie as she pointed to another one around a different corner.

"I don't know what they're doing here, or why no one seems to be worried about them, but there is a place where I would like to go.

With that, Cloud started to walk towards a house. Not caring who saw, he turned the knob and walked in. Fortunately, the door was not locked and nobody seemed to be home. The rest of the group quickly shuffled in.

_It all looks just like I remember it. I mean, it's obvious someone else lives here, but the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the cupboards, it's all the same! But there's something wrong..._

"Tifa...this can't be real..."

He walked over to the bed that used to be his and lied down in it. It had a similar feeling, and the cover looked the same as well. Memories that seemed to have left him so long ago came flooding back. Memories of loneliness, of confusion, of isolation. He sat up a little bit and looked at the edge of the bed facing a wall. Moving in closer, he looked over the edge and stared sternly at the wall.

Sighing deeply, he got up and faced the others.

"I was right, this isn't real."

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't my house."

"How can you tell?" asked Barret.

"When I was little, I used to have a short knife. Sometimes, when I was bored, I would make notches in the wall behind my bed. It's the only place where I could do it so that my mother couldn't see. That wall behind there is completely smooth, and it doesn't look like they redid that part as well. You would be able to see the new layer. This is completely new."

"So then they rebuilt the village exactly as it stood? Why?" asked Cait Sith.

"To cover up what happened," said Tifa sadly, "so that no unsuspecting travelers would know what actually happened here. I always wondered why I never heard anything about the town getting destroyed. I'd hear whispers about what the Shinra were doing all around the world, but never about here. They'd just say there was a reactor malfunction where Sephiroth died."

"But how did they get everything to look exactly the way it did?" asked Red, "You would think that there would at least be some things that were different from the outside."

"...I might know how," said Cloud.

"...Nibelheim is...was an old village. A lot of the structures here were extremely primitive a long time ago. However, when Shinra built that reactor, it was decided that the whole village would get an upgrade. So they took down and rebuilt everything from the ground up gradually, even the water tower in the middle. One of the uses of that mansion in the back was to house people as the village was being rebuilt part by part. My guess is...that they still had their inventory records of exactly what kinds of materials they used. What type of wood, what type of concrete, right down to the last nail. With that knowledge, they could easily just repeat the process once again."

"Incredible..." said John, "they made it look like nothing happened."

"So then the people here are..." began Aeris.

"They're hired by the Shinra," said Tifa, "and that means that we shouldn't stay here long."

"I agree," said Cloud, "This place is worse then a ghost town, it's like a zombie. All the parts are there from the outside, but there is no life or soul to be found here."

"Those people in the black hoods are here too," said Aeris, "How are they tied into this?"

"I'm not sure," said Cloud, "but if they're here, then that means that somehow they're tied back in with the Shinra."

"Do you think Sephiroth might have passed by here?" asked John.

"Yes...I do. I also have hunch on where he may have stopped by."

"The mansion?" asked Tifa.

"Yeah, that's where he changed. Where he learned about himself, he might have paid it another visit."

"Should we head there then?" asked Aeris.

"Yeah...I hope you all got rest last night. Because they're just may be a chance that we might have to face him if he's still here..."

"Excuse me, who are you?!" exclaimed a woman who had just walked in.

"Don't mind us, we were just leaving," said Cloud rudely as he walked by her without caring.

* * *

The team quickly ran up to the mansion, wanting to get away from the village itself. As they approached the gate, they slowed down. It was open, but didn't look like it had been maintained. Rusting was present all around, signifying either abandonment or lack of care.

"Is this the way you remember it too?" asked Barret.

"Yeah pretty much," answered Cloud, "Although it looks even worse since I last saw it."

"I mean...if Sephiroth attacked five years ago, then all that time would have added to this place's decay if operations have ceased," said Red.

"Yeah, I suppose..."

_Although why do I feel like it hasn't been that long since I was last here..._

"Hey look! There's someone there." said Cait Sith.

Outside the front door, they saw another one of the figures in the black cloaks. This one did not seem to be moving much. He was slumped outside the entrance.

"Is it...alive?" asked Tifa.

"Let's find out."

As they approached the figure, they heard whisperings.

"Reunion...must go to Reunion...Sephiroth..."

"What is he talking about?" asked Aeris, "What's this reunion..."

The team knelt in front of the hooded figure.

"Take the hood off," said Barret.

Cloud nodded and had to hold back his disgust as he did so. Like Aeris' description of what she had seen, this is barely looked alive. There was no color to it at all, no hair either. Even the eyes lacked irises, just while. The skin was loose and seemed like it could break and fall off at any minute.

"Sephiroth..."

"Is Sephiroth here? Is he inside?" asked Tifa.

"The great...Sephiroth...inside...mansion..."

With those words, the being slumped and did not move any more.

"Is it...dead?" asked Cait Sith.

"Yeah...appears so, it sounded like it was in pain..."

"This is just like the one I saw in that forest," said Aeris, "What's one of them doing out here?"

"I think the more appropriate question would be, what were they doing over there?" returned Red.

"What do you mean?"

"There are more of them around here. We've seen them in pretty isolated incidents so far, and away from people. But there's several here out in the open and the people here don't seem to mind. In fact, they're not surprised by their presence at all."

"Except these aren't normal people, they work for the Shinra," said Tifa.

"Which means..."

"Which means that whatever these things are, they're somehow tied to the Shinra, and Sephiroth too it appears."

"Cloud, do you remember when we saw one of them at the Mythril Mines?" asked John, "It mentioned something about a 'reunion' as well."

"Yeah, I remember."

_None of this is making any sense...are they following Sephiroth? They seem to be around wherever we go, and we're doing the same..._

"We don't have time to waste, let's go inside."

"Cloud, shouldn't we give him a burial or something?" asked Tifa.

"I'd like to, but we can't afford to waste time. I know I'm sounding harsh everyone, but this is war. In war, if you waste a chance, it might just cost you victory, or your life..."

* * *

In his office at the Shinra building, Rufus got a phone call.

"Yes?"

"Rufus! Come to my office right now!" came an excited voice from the other end.

"What is it Reeve? Did something happen?"

"AVALANCHE just got confirmation that Sephiroth is at Nibelheim and they're going to try to find him. If you want the closest thing possible to a front row seat..."

"I'll be right there!"

_This is an opportunity too great to pass up..._

* * *

If the rest of the village looked as if it were brand new, then the Shinra Mansion was the closest hint at a deeper truth. The drapes were in tatters, the walls were starting to show the beginning of rotting. A thick layer of dust covered the piano, and the stairs lacked a handrail on one of the sides. John had expected the place to be swarming with monsters, given how the game went, but it was completely silent aside from their footsteps.

"This place is really creepy," said Aeris.

"You can say that again," added Barret,

"Follow me, the path to the underground library lies upstairs."

Yuffie was the first one to dash upstairs, hoping to use her extra time to possibly find some treasure.

_There's gotta be something here! Looks like a bunch of rich people could have lived here, maybe they left some stuff behind for good old Yuffie..._

"Hey, there's a safe here!" yelled the ninja as the remainder of AVALANCHE finished coming to the corridor.

"We don't have time for this right now," said Cloud as the followed her voice into a room.

"It'll only take a second, I know how to crack combinations."

_Why doesn't that surprise me?_

Before anyone could say otherwise, the teenage ninja had her ear to the door and was turning the combination.

_Hmm...that's strange. Sounds like something's moving in there, must be my mind..._

She continued to fiddle around with the combination and refused to hear anything else.

_Almost...almost...got it!_

"Hey, I got-"

Before she could finish speaking, a force threw Yuffie back from it as a figure quickly emerged.

"What the?!"

In the space in front of the opened safe, now lay a monster. As it slowly got up, the group found themselves perplexed by its appearance. This creature was among the strangest they had ever seen. It looked more like two different monsters put together. One side was purple and appeared more humanoid, with a face, an arm, and a leg. The other half was red and seemed to be composed entirely out of appendages and tentacles.

_What...is this?_

The monster waited no time lunging at Yuffie and knocking her weapon out of her hand before she could make a move. The largest tentacle then wrapped itself around her and picked her up. The rest of the team could see that he was starting to squeeze her as she started to wheeze. Cloud quickly rushed at it and severed the tentacle, dropping the ninja to the ground. However, it wasted no time in regenerating, hitting Cloud unexpectedly in his back making him fall to the ground. Tifa and Red ran towards the creature and struck it away. As it regained it's footing, it sent off bolt attacks, hitting both of them and sending it flying back. It started to rush towards Tifa, but was hit by a fire spell from Aeris, sending it staggering backwards as it flailed its tentacles to get off the flames. John tried to score an attack, but it jumped over him and landed a safe distance away. Just then, the flesh on the creature seemed to move from underneath.

"What is it doing?" asked Tifa.

The red flesh seemed to expand towards the other side, converting the purple half into the second half of one monster. there was no face, no arms, and no legs now. Just a group of tentacles that held the creature off the ground.

Aeris fired off another fireball, but this one seemed to make no impact.

_It seemed to work a second ago, what's going on here?_

Lost Number launched another bolt spell that Aeris barely dodged. The wall behind her was not so lucky, as it was completely decimated.

_How did its magic attack get so powerful all of a sudden?_

"We've got to do something! If it keeps firing off attacks like that it's going to make the whole building collapse on us!"

Red decided to try again and lunged at the monster, severing a few of its the creature staggered from Red's attack, Cait Sith ran up and unleashed a flurry of punches. Barret stepped up next and unleashed a hail of bullets, knocking off more and more parts of the creature. However, as these parts were removed, they were replaced with new flesh. Flesh that seemed to be more like the purple side that had disappeared. Gradually, the tentacles stopped regenerating, and instead two legs emerged, then two arms, and finally the face that they had seen at the beginning came out in full form. As this transformation was going on, the stream of bullets was starting to injure the creature less and less, a fact that was not lost on the gunman.

_What the?! These were just doing major damage!_

Barret's attack seemed to be having no effect as Lost Number tackled him into the wall.

"Barret!" yelled Red as he rushed at the monster, only to be hit away.

"That didn't faze him at all. What can we do now?" asked Yuffie.

"This!" exclaimed John as he extended his hand and shot a lightning bolt out. The attack hit the monster so hard that it went tumbling away from where Barret was.

John fired another bolt and landed another powerful blow. As the monster tried to get back up, John noticed that it was slowly starting to change color again.

_I don't think so!_

Another attack came from John and hit where the purple ended, searing off the newly developing red flesh before it had a chance to fully form. The creature screamed in agony as it fell to the ground in pain. John continued to fire off spells into its wounds until the creature had been completely burnt.

_That was...impressive! _thought Red.

"Wow, that was great John!" yelled Yuffie, "How did you figure out to do that?"

"If magic didn't seem to work when it was red, then I thought that it might be its weakness when it was purple."

"That was very good thinking," said Cloud.

_I never expected him to be able to defeat it with just his magic alone though...his skill there is far higher than in his physical abilities._

"Everyone alright?"

"Yeah," replied Tifa, "What was all that about?"

"Look in the safe, it must have been guarding something."

Yuffie sped to the open safe and frowned as she looked back at the group.

"The only thing here is some key, there's not a single gil!"

"Hmm...let's take that key with us," suggested Red, "There could be a door somewhere. Given the fact that they went as far as to create a guardian for it, there must be something there."

* * *

"Rufus...do you know what those things in the black cloaks are?" asked Reeve.

"Unfortunately I do...they were once people."

"What?! What happened to them?"

"Those are the actual residents of Nibelheim. Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone normal was given the SOLDIER treatments? That's the result..."

"...this was Hojo wasn't it?"

"Yeah, he captured the survivors after the Sephiroth episode..."

* * *

"Alright, everyone look around this room. I'm not sure exactly where it was, but there is a switch here that reveals a hidden passage to the library and laboratory that's underneath this mansion."

_It should be somewhere here, why can't I remember it more clearly? _wondered Cloud, _I mean, I did open it before..._

"Hey I think I found something!"

Tifa pushed into a part of the wall that set off a switch, sending a part shifting back and to the side, revealing a set of stairs.

"Looks like a long way down."

"Sure does, let's get going," said Barret, "I'm interesting in seeing just what the Shinra were trying to hide down here with my own eyes."

Cloud noticed that one member of the group was looking out of the window, rather than forward with the rest.

"John, you okay?" asked Cloud.

He quickly turned around and nodded.

"Hey start going down, we'll catch up. Don't go further than the bottom of the stairs," ordered Cloud.

Once the rest of the team had started going down the stairs, the AVALANCHE leader walked up to the troubled and worried individual.

"Hey, don't look so worried. I told you, you don't have to face it alone."

"It's just that...I don't know what I might find out..."

"Look, whatever it is, we'll be right there with you. I meant what I said back at Cosmo Canyon. Whatever you find out from Sephiroth, if it is now or later, our mission will continue exactly the same, and that includes you."

John took a deep sigh before giving a weak smile.

"Thanks..."

* * *

"...would it be wrong to say that I'm more excited than I believe I should be?" asked Reeve.

"Not at all, I am in the same boat."

_Perhaps it's finally time to find out more about Mr. Reeds..._

* * *

The winding stairs and the subsequent tunnel led them to a door.

"Ok, the laboratory is behind this door, and the library is to the left. Be on your guard," warned Cloud.

Entering, they saw piles of books scattered around them, as well as some broken containers and two open chambers to the side that looked like they hadn't been used in some time.

_That's where Cloud and Zack... _thought John.

"Sephiroth!"

The urgency in Cloud's voice quickly snapped all of them back to reality. There, in the corridor between the two parts of the room, stood Sephiroth. It seemed that he himself had been observing the surroundings around him.

"Being here sure does bring back some memories, doesn't it?" he smiled.

"How dare you..."

Cloud prepared his sword in anger.

"Hmm...are you going to participate in the Reunion?"

_Again with this whole Reunion business..._

"I don't even know what this Reunion is."

"Myself and mother will both be at the reunion. That is where Jenova will become whole once again, and take her righteous place as the calamity from the skies."

"Calamity?" wondered Cloud, "So then she's not an Ancient?"

Before Sephiroth could answer, another voice spoke instead.

"Of course she's not!" answered Aeris, "There is no way one of the Ancients could be anything like that monster!"

"I see...I should have expected you to know."

"So then what is she? What are you trying to do?" asked Cloud.

"It doesn't matter right now, you know all that you should at this point."

Before Cloud could retort though, something else happened.

"...I have a question for you."

All eyes in the room shifted to John as he stepped forward to face their enemy.

"John, get back!"

"Hm, that's funny," chuckled Sephiroth, "If my intention was to kill this man right now, I doubt you would be able to protect him."

"Now then...what is your question?"

"What are you doing to me?"

Sephiroth gave a cold glare before speaking.

_What is he talking about?_

"I don't understand. I don't believe that I have done anything to you...yet."

"I'm talking about these voices."

"Voices..."

"I have been hearing voices during our travels, ever since we were back in Midgar. I remember when we were at the Shinra building. I saw you! And you saw me! You knew, you knew what was wrong with me! I don't know how, but you knew!"

The next few seconds seemed like ages as silence filled the room. John's breath stopped as he waited for the answer to the question that had plagued him for months. The rest of AVALANCHE waited with baited breath as well. It seemed that Sephiroth was drawing out withholding this information, until he suddenly started to laugh. John did not know what to make of the situation. The laughing was not maniacal or devious, it seemed to be more out of entertainment.

"What are you laughing about?!" he asked angrily.

"I have not done anything to you, I thought that you were already aware."

"Aware? Aware of what?"

"Of just who you are."

"Who I...am?"

Sephiroth's eyes then shifted to someone else.

"She is."

John looked behind him to see Aeris with a shocked expression on her face.

"What...what do you mean?" asked John as he looked back at Sephiroth.

"I would have thought that traveling with another Cetra would have made you closer to the fact that you are one too."

_A Cetra?! Me?!_

"There's no way that is true..."

"Oh really?" smirked Sephiroth, "Tell me then, have you found it interesting how you seem to have a much higher aptitude for using materia than most of your friends? Other than her?"

"I..."

_This can't be possible..._

"That is because the Cetra are far more in tune with the planet than humans. You are able to tap into the connection that the materia provides much quicker, and much deeper as well. In fact, if you trained yourself far enough, you may find that you do not need materia to forge that connection with the planet. You will become able to access all the planet has to offer on your own."

_But I'm not from this planet..._

"And those voices? Tell me something, are there many of them? So many that you cannot possibly hope to ever count them? And is there one that is more significant than the others? One that overpowers all the rest, even though it does not communicate in sounds that are actual words?"

_No...no way..._

"I will take your silence as a confirmation. Well, let me tell you further. Those voices you hear are the voices of the souls in the Lifestream. The souls of those who are returning to the planet, those who are traveling the Lifestream, going back to where they came. That's why you can sometimes make out their words. As for the other one, I'm sure you can figure out that that would have to be the planet itself."

"How...how do you know this?" asked Aeris, "You're not an Ancient."

Sephiroth pointed to the materials on the desk behind him.

"The books and papers here have much information about the Ancients. They are largely the result of Professor Gast, who did extensive research on the subject. He even spoke to a survivor of the Ancients himself years ago."

"Surviving Ancients? So you mean there are others out there?!" she exclaimed.

"As far as I know, the only surviving Cetra I'm aware of being still alive are in this room right now. Professor Gast died over twenty years ago so if there are others out there, that knowledge died with him too."

"Who was this Professor Gast?" asked Aeris, "Was he the same as Hojo?"

Sephiroth laughed when he heard the question.

"Hahaha, you silly girl. Do not insult Professor Gast like that. Hojo is just an amateur, although even that may be too much of a compliment to him. Professor Gast was a true scientist and a true visionary. He was the father of the Jenova Project, and the reason we stand in this room right now."

_The father of the Jenova Project? So this whole search for the promised land?_

"Anyhow...," said Sephiroth as he moved his eyes back to Cloud.

"I will be heading past Mt. Nibel. If you want to find out more, then follow. By the way, here's a parting gift."

With that, Sephiroth took a green sphere out of his pocket and hurled it at Cloud, hitting him square in the stomach. Before Cloud was able to recover from the pain, Sephiroth levitated himself and flew past them, out of the basement and into the outside world.

"Cloud! Are you alright?" asked Tifa.

"Yeah...I'm good..."

_Reunion...what is he talking about? That thing outside said the same thing..._

"John! John! Snap out of it!"

Yuffie's yells moved Cloud's eyes over to John, who seemed to be paralyzed. She kept shaking him and trying to get him to respond.

_He must be in shock..._

As the others called out his name as well, John's mind seemed to slip in to a different dimension, numb from what he had heard.

_Me, a Cetra?! How? How is it possible?_

The attempt to break through to John was sidelined when a horrified shriek filled the room. Their heads snapped to see Aeris with her hands to her mouth with tears falling down her face.

"Aeris! What's wrong?" asked Cloud as he ran up to her.

"Look...look at this page," she pointed down to the paper in front of her.

"Aeris, what am I trying to find?"

"The name...the name of the Ancient he spoke with..."

"It says here that their name was Ifalna, do you know who that is?"

"Yes...that was the name of my mother. My real mother who died when we escaped the Shinra."

"Aeris..." said the leader as he put his hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her.

"The Ancient that Gast spoke to was my mother! He was the reason we were captured!"

* * *

For those of you wondering where Vincent is, he'll be there in the next chapter.


End file.
